Professor Layton and the Shining Stone
by Overlord Duelist
Summary: The rarest treasure in Scotland, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues, and Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery...
1. Chapter 1: The Letter, Part 1

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG…dunno, see how the later chapters go…

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in Scotland, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Hi. This is only my second fic, so PLEASE DON'T flame me or kill me inside your head if it doesn't meet standards…you are however allowed to flame me for not following up with my first. You can continue the story as you see fit…constructive criticism is welcome, though…

* * *

Professor Herschel Layton was sitting in his office one morning, shifting through various pieces of paperwork before his morning lecture at Gressenheller University. He was an archaeology professor, and his classes were very popular. He was going over a few notes regarding various types of fossils, with phrases such as 'trace fossils' and 'cast fossils' scrawled out into his notepad in untidy letters.

Professor Layton then heard his office door open, and in stepped a young brown haired boy wearing a blue cap and blue clothes to match; Luke Triton, his 'apprentice' as he liked to call himself (even though he was the only one asserting it). He was holding a stack of envelopes in his left hand.

"Mornin', Professor," he said cheerfully. "Your mail."

"Ah, thank you, Luke," said Layton, and he shifted through them each. Luke always managed the Professor's mail and made the tea, for Layton, despite appearances, was not a well organised man.

Layton continued to look through each one with little interest, but then stopped suddenly, for one of the letter's addresses was written in handwriting that Layton had not seen in a long time. Putting the rest of his mail aside, he opened the white envelope and read the letter inside.

_Dear Professor Layton,_

_I hope that you are well. I am doing well in my studies in Scotland, and I think I am making good progress._

_I am writing to you because something terrible happened not too long ago. My great uncle, Jake Hammond, passed away recently, and has left most of his possessions to the Museum of Edinburgh. However, the most important item listed in the will, a treasure known as the Shining Stone, has gone missing, and believed to have been stolen. The will states that my uncle's friend, John Maples, should send the Shining Stone along with the original packaging with which he, my uncle, first received it from Germany. My uncle believed that Maples would recognise the Shining Stone's value and would place it on display at the museum._

_I know that you are the finest mind that I know, and news of your accomplishments has reached here, and I need your help. Could you help in the search for the Shining Stone and help to carry out my late uncle's wishes?_

_I realise of course, you are probably busy, so please carry out my request at whatever time seems convenient to you in the week._

_Your student,_

_May Simpson._

Layton frowned at the letter. May was an old student of his, who transferred to a different university overseas to continue her studies a year ago. But being busy, she had little time to write to him…

Luke watched the Professor's face as he read the letter, and when he placed it on his desk, he asked, "What's wrong, Professor?"

"It seems that an old student of mine needs my help."

"With what?"

Layton turned to look at Luke. "An old family treasure has been stolen, and she requires my assistance in recovering it."

Luke grinned at Layton. "And you're going to help here out, right?"

Layton smiled. "Of course. A gentleman never refuses a request from a lady."

Layton looked over the letter again. _Please carry out my request at whatever time seems convenient to you in the week. _Well, it was Monday, and he was teaching until Friday, so he would leave with Luke on Saturday. He put on his black coat, straightened his black silk hat, and walked to the door.

"I'm off, Flora," he said to a young brown haired girl, resting on the sofa in his office. She nodded, and waved goodbye as he walked out the room.

That Saturday, Layton, Luke, and Flora were on a ferry to Scotland, looking out on the deck. Luke was walking up and down the deck, checking each view with Flora, while Layton was reading the newspaper reporting the theft of the Shining Stone. As he turned to the next page, he heard a loud groan coming from behind his back. He turned, and saw a tall, muscly man with glasses and a grey moustache wringing his hands in frustration. He was standing next to three wooden crates, stacked beside each other. Layton, being the kind sort, asked, "Is something troubling you, sir?"

"Ohh," sighed the man, "I think I might have messed up." And he pointed at the crates. Upon further inspection, Layton saw that the boxes were labelled 'Apples', 'Oranges', and 'Apples and Oranges Mix'.

"I think I labelled each crate wrong…" groaned the man. "But I can't tell which crate contains what!"

Layton looked at the top of the crates, and saw that each one had a small hole, just big enough for Layton's hand to reach inside, but clearly nowhere near large enough for the man's.

Layton smiled. He was an archaeology professor, but was more famous around London as a master of puzzles. This was clearly no problem to his well-versed mind, and he had the solution in a flash.

"Actually," Layton remarked, "I think it may be easier to re-label them than you think."

The muscly man stared at Layton, amazed. "Y-you think?"

"Certainly," smiled the Professor. "I just need to check the contents of a box."

"B-but I can't just pry them open!" cried the man. "I'm in for it if the boss finds out and makes me reseal the boxes again!"

Layton re-adjusted his hat. "You don't need to," he said. "I just need to examine one box…"

* * *

**Post note: **So, how was it?

Do YOU know how Layton got the answer? If it were a game, I'd say this puzzle's worth about 15 Picarats. Here are the key facts:

There are three boxes, one labelled 'Apples', one labelled 'Oranges', and one labelled 'Apples and Oranges'.

Each box is labelled incorrectly.

You can only take one fruit from one box of your choice.

TASK: **Re-label each crate correctly.**

Check the next chapter for the solution!


	2. Chapter 2: The Letter, Part 2

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG…dunno, see how the later chapters go…

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in Scotland, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Well, how did you find the puzzle last chapter? Hope it wasn't too hard, they'll get harder as the story progresses…well as promised, this chapter has the solution, as well as a nother puzzle. Enjoy!

* * *

Layton reached inside one of the crates (the one labelled 'Apples and Oranges'), and took a piece of fruit out. It was an orange.

"Well," said Layton, placing it back in the crate, "assuming each crate is indeed labelled incorrectly, this crate is actually the one that should be labelled 'Oranges'." He then carefully peeled the Oranges label of the incorrect crate, and placed it on top of the correct one.

Layton then turned to the other crates, peeling the labels of each crate and sticking them in their proper place. "That must mean this crate, which was incorrectly labelled 'Oranges', should be labelled 'Apples'. And the remaining crate is the one containing Apples and Oranges."

The muscly man sighed with relief. "Whoof, that was a close one! If I had to tear the crate open…man, I DON'T wanna know what would happen! Thanks!"

"Always a pleasure," smiled Layton. Then, a beep over the ferry's intercom was heard.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are quite close to our destination. Please gather your personal belongings and wait by your cars or by the relevant exits in time for disembarking."

That announcement brought Luke and Flora back to Layton's side. "Well," said Luke, "here we are. Scotland! I can't wait to see the sights!"

"Yes, we should visit the attractions when we find the time," agreed Layton. "But remember, you two, we are here at the request of a friend of mine. It would be quite unseemly of us to not make her request our first priority."

"Of course, Professor," said Flora, earnestly. "But still, I am excited. This is my first time in another country."

"Right," said Luke. "You've only ever holidayed with us in England."

Layton checked his watch. "We should retrieve our luggage and disembark. Come on."

And with that, the trio walked back to the car, an old fashioned one affectionately dubbed 'The Laytonmobile". As they got in, the ferry doors opened, revealing the port's road ahead. As the drove out of the dock, Luke reached into his bag and pulled out a map.

"It says that Ms Simpson's house isn't far from here," said Luke, trying as hard as he could to study the map carefully. It was very big (well, to someone as small as Luke, it seemed very big), and it was quite detailed and complicated.

"I've been to Scotland once before, on an archaeological dig," said Layton. "I haven't gotten to know the area very well, however…"

Layton then turned to Luke. "Could you read the directions on the map for me, Luke?"

"Alright, Professor. Uh, left here."

Layton turned left on the street, and drove on. "Uh, straight ahead…"

Layton continued to follow Luke's directions as Flora looked out of the window, enthralled by the sights, until they pulled up to a small house, unremarkable looking, but very well kept, as far as Layton, Luke and Flora could see. Layton checked his car, and could see that he would need to refuel before heading home. "Oh dear," he sighed.

"Um…"

Layton turned to look at Luke, who was holding the map, with a look on his face that just screamed, "I messed up."

"Is something the matter, my boy?" enquired Layton.

"Uh, I think I was holding the map upside down, Professor."

Startled, Layton looked over Luke's shoulder as he turned the map the right way up. "I see," Layton groaned. "We've ended up taking the longest route to get to May's house. I though the journey was taking a bit long."

"So bad was it?" asked Flora, worried.

"Well, the Laytonmobile used up a lot of fuel," remarked Layton. "I'll have to see if May has any spare…"

"How much, do you think?"

"Well…"

* * *

**Post note: **So, how was it?

Do YOU know how to get the answer? If it were a game, I'd say this puzzle's worth about 20 Picarats. Here are the key facts:

The Laytonmobile took the longest route.

The fuel in the Laytonmobile weighs 30kg.

At the start, 99% of the fuel is pure fuel, with the one percent being foreign contaminants.

After the journey, the fuel is 98% fuel, with the rest being contaminants.

TASK: **Find out how much fuel the Laytonmobile guzzled on the way to May's house.**

Check the next chapter for the solution!


	3. Chapter 3: At the Museum, Part 1

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG…dunno, see how the later chapters go…

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in Scotland, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

I can't do visual puzzles… :(

Well, here's the answer to the last puzzle: **99% of the 30kg weight is 29.7kg (1% of 30kg is 0.3kg of contaminants). The weight of the contaminants never changes, so now, when 2% of the weight is 0.3kg, 1% is 0.15kg. So 100% of the weight is 15kg. Therefore, the Laytonmobile used up 15kg of fuel.**

Hope it wasn't too hard, they'll get harder as the story progresses…

* * *

Layton sighed. "Well, there's little we can do about it now. We've only used up half the fuel, so it's enough to get us to a station on the return trip. For now, we should meet with May."

Flora and Luke nodded, and they walked up the house's driveway. They passed through the rather small garden, and Layton walked up to the door and rang the bell. It was answered by a black-haired woman in a white coat, wearing glasses. Her face was an expression of relief.

"Professor. I'm glad you could make it."

"But of course," smiled the Professor. "I would never turn down a request from an old student of mine."

"Well, I'm glad my letter got to you, at any rate," said the woman. "Come on in, I'll explain everything."

"That would be welcome," said Layton, and they were led into a small, but very homely living room. It had not much, except a sofa, a TV and a few chairs around an ebony table, but it was a nice place to relax. Layton, Luke and Flora sat down on the sofa, while the woman pulled up a chair.

"So, May, this treasure, the 'Shining Stone' was it, has been stolen?"

"Yes," sighed May.

"What IS the Shining Stone, anyway?" asked Luke. "It sounds like some sort of priceless jewel, or something."

"Well, I'm not actually sure," replied May. "But from what most people are saying, it sounds like a valuable jewel, yes. All I know is that it's worth three and a half million pounds."

"T-THREE AND A HALF MILLION!"

Layton turned to Luke. "Please keep your voice at a more reasonable level, my boy." He then turned to May. "That's…quite the considerable sum."

"Yeah," said May. "According to my uncle's friend, John Maples, he received the package, but the Shining Stone was nowhere to be seen inside. It was totally empty."

"Who is this Mr Maples?" asked Flora.

"He's Edinburgh Museum's assistant deputy curator, according to what I've read," replied Layton.

"Exactly, that's why my uncle entrusted it to him. Because he'd know what to do with it," said May. Then her face fell. "Oh, what on earth could have happened to it?"

"Calm yourself, May," said Layton, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Rest assured we'll do our best to not let you down. We'll make quite sure to find the Shining Stone."

"W-well, is there anything I can do to help? I wish there was…"

"Well, as a matter of fact, there is," Layton replied. "Do you know Mr Maple's address, perchance? I think we should ask him about it."

"Oh, yes." May scrawled the name of a house in Glasgow. "But he works at the museum nine till seven, so you're better off going there if you want to catch him."

"I see. Thank you for the information." Layton got up. "Come on, you two. I think we should pay the museum a visit."

"Wow," said Flora, livening up. "_The_ Edinburgh Museum! I can't wait to go inside!"

"It IS open today, correct?" asked Layton.

"It should be," said May, with certainty. "They're probably busy discussing how to display Uncle Jake's collection."

"Well, let's get started there then," Layton said. "We'll get in touch with you with any updates on our investigation." May nodded, and showed them the door. Layton paused, just before he walked out of the door. "Ah…one last thing, if I may?"

"Yes?"

"…Have you any petrol?"

The Laytonmobile drove up to Edinburgh Museum, stopping to refuel on the way (May didn't have any spare fuel, as it turned out). Mile after mile passed, until the finally pulled up, outside the vast doors of the museum.

As the trio got out of the car, Layton turned to Luke and Flora, and said, "Now remember, be sure to pay attention to manners. This is an important part of Scotland's history, after all."

They both nodded. Satisfied, they walked through the door, into the receptionists area. The short woman, with her blond hair in a bun, looked up from the desk and noticed the three. "Good day, sir. Are you here to see the exhibits?"

"Not today, Madam," replied Layton. "I wish to speak to a Mr John Maples, if it's not too much trouble?"

"Maples? Er…just a mo…" the woman pressed a button at the desk. "Sir, there's a man at the desk who wishes to speak to you."

"Who is it?" came the reply.

"Layton. Professor Herschel Layton," said Layton.

"Er, Mr Layton, sir," said the receptionist.

There was a pause. Eventually the voice said, "Show him to my office."

"Yes sir." She got up from her seat. "If you would like to follow me, please?"

She showed the trio to a door a floor up from the receptionist area, whose nameplate read, 'John Maples'. She knocked on the door. "Come in," came the reply.

The woman showed them in. Behind the desk was a man with grey hair, with a quite large moustache to match. He was dressed very smartly, with a blue suit and red tie, and had all manner of things around his office, most on his desk.

"Ah, you're the esteemed Professor Layton, yes?" he said. He sounded like a jolly sort of man. Luke and Flora seemed to take an instant liking to him.

"I am, sir. I was wondering if you could tell me anything about the Shining Stone?"

Maples took a good hard look at Layton. "Well, I'd be happy to tell you, but I can't give what I know to just about anyone…"

Luke almost got up to protest, but Flora held him back down, mouthing to him, "Mind your manners."

"So," announced Maples, clapping his hands together, "I want to see if you are truly Professor Layton. Let's see you try to answer my puzzle."

Layton smiled. He liked a good puzzle, and he knew from looking at Maples that he knew a few good ones.

Maples pulled out his desk draw, and took out a clear plastic bag containing round, perfectly smooth stones of different sizes. He carefully emptied them onto the desk, pushing aside all the other items. Layton spotted that most of the items belonged to Jake Hammond, including a stamp collection, silk vegetables, and various historical documents. There was also a glass cut paperweight on the side, which was quickly buried amongst all the other items.

Maples sat down at the desk. "In front of you are several stones, each weighing a whole number of grams, from one gram to forty grams. At your disposal, you have a set of scales and an unlimited supply of weights in the cupboard. Your task is to weigh them all. If you can tell me the fewest number of weights needed to weigh them all, and what they are, I'll believe that you are the real Professor."

* * *

**Post note: **So, how was it?

Do YOU know how Layton gets the answer? If it were a game, I'd say this puzzle's worth about 40 Picarats (my highest yet!). Here are the key facts:

There are quite a lot of stones, weighing 1-40 grams.

They each weigh a whole number of grams, so they don't weigh anything like 14.6 grams, for example.

You have an umlimited supply of weights.

You have a set of old fashioned scales.

TASK: **Work out the fewest number of weights you need to weigh all the stones, and identify what they are.**

Check the next chapter for the solution!


	4. Chapter 4: At the Museum, Part 2

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG…dunno, see how the later chapters go…

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in Scotland, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Well, how did you find the puzzle last chapter? Hope it wasn't too hard, I'll probably lower standards this chapter, a 40 picarat one straight from a 20 may have been harsh…well, as promised, this chapter has the solution, as well as another puzzle. Enjoy!

* * *

Layton stared at the stones on the desk for a few minutes in total silence. Then he spoke.

"You need four weights. A one gram weight, a three gram weight, a nine gram weight, and a twenty seven gram weight."

Flora looked shocked. "But Professor, what if none of the stones weigh that much?"

"They probably don't," agreed Layton. "But, this is the ingenious solution. If you were weighing a six gram stone, for example, you would place the nine gram weight on the other side, and the three gram weight on the side with the stone. Nine grams on one side minus three grams on the other side make up six grams, you see?"

"I see!" said Luke, in realisation. "So by balancing out each of the weights accordingly, you can weigh every stone accurately!"

"Exactly."

Maples clapped his hands. "Amazing as always, professor. Alright, I'll believe that you are the real Herschel Layton. Now then, what was it that you wanted to ask me? Ah yea, the Shining Stone…"

He started to place the stones back into the bag. When he had finished, he put them back into his desk drawer, and sat down with the trio. He shifted through Hammond's possessions, until he found a gold, square shaped package addressed to Jake Hammond's house. It bore a white stamp with a picture of a diamond shape on it.

"This was the package that was supposed to come with the Shining Stone," he told Layton.

"Yes, I heard that Mr Hammond's will said you were to send the Shining Stone, along with packaging, here to the museum," he replied.

Hammond gave a weak smile. "Well, I managed the packaging alright, but as for the Stone…"

Hammond sighed. "Apart from some tissue paper, there was absolutely nothing inside the box. It was then I reported the theft to the authorities."

"But why does it bear Mr Hammond's address?" Luke asked.

"Ah, yes," said Maples. "This was the package used to send the Shining Stone to Jake. The same box was sent here, to the museum. That's why it bears the same address."

Just then, the sounds of a phone rang in his office. "Ah, excuse me," he said, rather sheepishly. He picked up the phone. "Maple's office."

The voice of the secretary who showed Layton, Luke and Flora Maple's office spoke. "Olive is here to see you, sir."

"Olive? Alright, tell her to wait by the door. I'll be with her shortly."

"Yes sir."

Maples hung up, and turned to Layton. "I do apologise, but some important business matters have arisen. I need to be going."

"That's no problem, sir," Layton said graciously. "Then, we shall excuse ourselves."

"I'm sorry that I couldn't be of any more help…" But then Maples' face lit up. "Actually, I suppose I could give you one more puzzle for the road."

"Excellent," Layton smiled. "Let's hear it."

"This is actually one of Jake's old favourites. It's a riddle he used to tell to the museum staff."

He handed Layton a piece of paper, with the following sentence.

_"I love to mimic the right eye of my dad, which works like a radar, which is again similar to a rotator"._

"There's something remarkable about that sentence," Maples explained. "Can you work out why? I think it should keep those two occupied," he said, turning to Luke and Flora, with his eyes twinkling. And with that, he opened his office door, and walked out, with the three following behind.

As Layton, Luke and Flora left the museum, they noticed Maples was now talking to a woman with very untidy hair and wild looking clothes by the exhibit entrance. Layton gave the paper a few quick glances, and then he handed the piece of paper to Luke and Flora.

"Well," he said, as they got back in the car. "Do you know exactly what is unusual about that sentence?"

"Don't tell me you've already got the answer, Professor…" Luke groaned.

"I couldn't resist," chuckled Layton. "Besides, you need something to occupy yourselves on the journey. It will take a while."

"Where are we going, Professor?"

"Not now, my boy. I'll tell you once you've solved the puzzle."

"Professoooooooor…"

"Oh, cheer up, Luke," giggled Flora. "I'll help out. How does that sound?"

* * *

**Post note:**So, how was it?

Do YOU know how to get the answer? If it were a game, I'd say this puzzle's worth about 30 Picarats. Here are the key facts:

"I love to mimic the right eye of my dad, which works like a radar, which is again similar to a rotator" is the sentence.

There's something unusual about it.

TASK: **Find out what is so strange about that sentence.**

Check the next chapter for the solution!


	5. Chapter 5: On Board to Germany, Part 1

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG…dunno, see how the later chapters go…

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in Scotland, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Waaaah, things are moving along quickly, aren't they. I've only got ONE review, as I write this, but I'll persevere! Anyway, how'd you find the puzzle last chapter? It's getting hard to think of anymore good ones, I'm hoping to make the final chapter have the greatest puzzle of all…

* * *

Luke, however, was not the Professor's apprentice for nothing, and he had the answer soon enough. "I see! This sentence has words that are spelt the same forwards as backwards!"

"Isn't there a name for those sorts of words?" asked Flora.

"Palindromes," answered Layton. "And you're quite right, my boy.

"'I love to mimic the right **eye** of my **dad**, which works like a **radar**, which is again similar to a **rotator**'."

Luke looked around his surroundings. They were now travelling across quite a fair amount of countryside, which Luke didn't recognise from the journey to Scotland. "So, are you going to tell us where we're going, Professor?"

"The train station," replied Layton. "There's someone whom I need to talk with…"

"Who?"

"Someone called Gertrude Williams," said Layton. He then took some large pieces of paper out of the glove box. "Read these, and you'll see why."

Flora and Luke scanned the papers Layton handed to them with great interest. Well, to be more specific, it was a collection of clippings stuck to the sheet. One read, **"Hammond's will 'is missing'"**, and it detailed how Hammond had two copies of the will, one he gave to Williams to keep in her safe, which vanished, along with the will. Another detailed how the safe was found under her lover, Archie Crow's bed, while the will turned out to be in William's handbag all along. A third article described a gang of crooks known as SNATCH, and how they were suspects in the Shining Stone's theft.

"How'd you get all this?" Luke asked.

"Well, since the day I received that letter, I've been keeping an eye on every bit of news regarding the Shining Stone," explained Layton. "I thought it would be useful. Anyway, let's find us a train. Her office is in Germany, and I certainly am not prepared to drive that distance."

The next morning, after explaining their findings to May and staying the night at her house, they drove back to the train station. Purchasing the tickets to Germany was fairly easy, and soon they were on a train that very afternoon. The Professor bought a few snacks to refuel themselves, and they found a table that was largely unoccupied, save for a woman wearing a rainbow coloured bandana with clothes to match, a bright sapphire ring, and sunglasses, hiding behind a quite large newspaper. Layton, Luke and Flora didn't pay much attention, until the woman pushed a strange brown package from underneath her paper with the hand with the ring as they pulled up to the next station.

"For you," she said. She spoke rather quietly, as if afraid to be overheard. "Follow the advice on it. A detective is on our trail."

Layton stared down at the package. "Whatever is this?" he asked. But the woman had got off at that stop, and ran off onto the platform. Layton knew it would be pointless to try and follow, as the crowd she disappeared into was too large and the train wouldn't stay at the station for very long. So, he sat down and examined the parcel. It read:

KODNU ORAES

LEENO YNATH

IWDEN EPOEB

OTTON

"Are sure we should open this, Professor?" asked Luke.

"I'm not sure," said the Professor, sceptical. "But before we deem this parcel unsafe, I think we should first decipher this odd code on it. Whatever is in this parcel may be important, dangerous, or both."

As they settled down at their table to crack the code, they didn't notice the woman had gotten back onto the train, in a different carriage…

* * *

**Post note:**So, how was it?

Do YOU know how to get the answer? If it were a game, I'd say this puzzle's worth about 30 Picarats. Here are the key facts:

KODNU ORAES

LEENO YNATH

IWDEN EPOEB

OTTON, reads the code.

TASK: **Find out what it says.**

Sorry that this chapter is so short, but chapter 3 was a bit long, so it all balances out. Check the next chapter for the solution!


	6. Chapter 6: On Board to Germany, Part 2

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG…dunno, see how the later chapters go…

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in Scotland, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Dooooooooood, another review! Bringing it up to a not-actually-all-that-impressive total of TWO! *Lame party whistle* I hope I get more…anyway, here's the solution and the next chapter of the fic. Enjoy!

* * *

Perhaps it was because Flora was reading the message upside down because of how she was seated at the table, but nonetheless, she had the answer very quickly.

"It's written backwards!" she said, eyes wide open.

Layton checked the message again. "Good heavens, so it is. Nice work, Flora!"

"Not…to…be opened…with…anyone else…around…ok?" Luke read, slowly.

"Well, I suppose we'll have to wait until we get off in Germany," Layton said, briskly.

Just then, a loud noise made the trio jump. It was a middle aged man in a dirty grey suit with equally dirty grey hair, and he was shouting at a much shorter man with a red moustache in a police uniform.

"BARTON! I told you that I don't take my coffee with milk!"

"S-sorry, sir!" stammered the other man. "I-I'll get another right away…"

"Well, look sharp about it! It's coming out of your salary, mate, if you don't hop to it!"

And with that, the short man scuttled off towards the buffet car. Layton stuffed the package into Luke's bag and walked over to the man's table.

"Oh, it's YOU, Layton," said the man, gruffly.

"Inspector Chelmey," Layton said, tipping his hat. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Now why is it that every time there's an incident, it's ALWAYS you and that other boy?"

Luke and Flora joined up with the Professor. "Well, its only coincidence this time, I assure you," Layton smiled. "It's simply a request from a friend."

"Well, I got a tip off from a Ms Simpson that this valuable treasure was stolen, and I was called in. Should've known you were involved. She said you were a friend of his."

_Is this the detective that woman was referring to? _Layton wondered. He considered showing the package to Chelmey, but then remembered that the detective was usually one to come up with the wrong conclusion, despite his dedication. On top of that, he probably wouldn't hand vital evidence back to Layton. Eventually he decided against the idea, and moved the conversation on. "Well, if you understand that, then you should know that this case is of importance to me too. So, if it's alright to partake in your investigation…"

"Sorry, Layton, but it's not that easy," Chelmey got off his chair and pointed a finger at Layton. "Detective work is for detectives, alright? If you're going to get in the way of my work…"

"I have no intention of interrupting your investigation, sir. I'll respectfully comply if that's what you wish." Layton knew that the detective was not in a good mood, as usual. It wasn't for any reason Layton could think of, but having to move around, questioning suspects must be difficult, he thought. So he decided to change the subject of the conversation. "So, what are you doing here, exactly?"

"Archie Rook," Chelmey answered. "The papers say that the safe containing one of the only two copies of Jake Hammond's will was found under his bed. He's been questioned by us about it before, but he wasn't very cooperative. So he and his lovely little wife are our top suspects now."

Just then, the train pulled up at the next station, and Chelmey and Layton's group got off.

"I'm off to have a little word with Crow," Chelmey said. "Now, I don't want you tailing after me while I'm working, you hear? Since you're Ms Simpson's friends, you can do your own thing, but you're not to go taking MY evidence!"

"Of course not," Layton said courteously. He was used to the inspector's grumpy, uncompromising attitude, however. For now, since he was busy interrogating Crow, Layton was at least free to speak to Gertrude Williams. "Come on, Luke, Flora. Let's find somewhere quiet."

The two followed behind. Once they were out of Chelmey's hearing range, Luke asked, "Are you looking for a place to unwrap that parcel, Professor?"

"Yes," said Layton. "Whatever is inside must be important. And I'd rather the inspector not take it from me now."

"Grumpy as always, isn't he?" said Flora disdainfully.

"He's always like that though," Luke reminded her. "And he hasn't stopped the Professor before, has he?"

Soon, they found a park, with no-one around. There was a wooden bench sitting on the lawn by the gravel path, and the three sat down to unravel the package. Inside they found a green tin box, which contained some uncut diamonds, a key, a map of some sorts, a green pass card with a black condor on it, and a piece of paper with some words:

MLSSVP JRPTX AHLML, AOL RLF VWLUZ AOL ZPAL VMMPJLAV AOL I.L.K.T. DOHA FVB ULLK PZ PU AOLYL. ZUHAJO.

"I can't make heads or tails of this one, Professor!" Flora stared at the paper in confusion.

"Hmm, quite the intricate message," said Layton. "I'm not entirely sure how to crack it yet. But let's leave it, for now. Mrs Williams' office is just around the corner."

Luke placed everything back into the green box, and carefully placed it back into his bag, and hurried after Layton and Flora. As they entered the building, they noticed that there were very few people about. Layton asked one or two where William's office was. They told him that it hadn't been used by anyone in years, but they were kind enough to direct him to the office. When they walked up to the door, they found a rather unusual security system. There was a white circle with a thick black dot at the centre next to the lock on the door, marked as 30cm across, strangely. Just outside the edge of the circle was a red sphere. Layton placed his finger on the circle, and the red sphere started moving, tracking where his finger was on the circle. Layton then brought his finger to the edge, and the sphere touched his finger. At once, a short, but loud buzz sounded, startling Luke and Flora.

"Ah," said Layton, nodding. "This IS an interesting puzzle…"

"Puzzle?" Luke and Flora asked together.

"Yes," said Layton. "We have to guide our finger to the edge of this circle without the red sphere touching the finger, to open the door, if I'm not mistaken…"

"But how are we going to do that, Professor?" Flora asked.

"Give me a minute."

Layton spent a few good minutes, experimenting with the puzzle, sounding the buzzer several times. After a few good tries, he noticed that the red sphere never travelled more than halfway round the circle at any one time, and that it moved about four times as fast as his finger.

Then it dawned on Layton. "Luke, have you a protractor, a pencil and a ruler?"

"What for?" asked Luke.

"Let me show you…"

* * *

**Post note:** So, how was it?

Do YOU know how to get the answer? If it were a game, I'd say this puzzle's worth about 80 Picarats. (I know that this would be ridiculously unreasonable at this stage of the mystery, but it's such a damn good puzzle, I had to let it out!) Here are the key facts:

The circle is 30 cm across.

You start at the centre of the circle.

Your finger's speed has to remain constant or the lock won't open.

The red sphere moves four times as fast as your finger, though.

The sphere tracks you by moving around the edge of the circle, but never travels further than half the circle's circumference.

You unlock the door if you get to the edge of the circle without the sphere catching you.

For simplicity's sake you can take **pi** as **3.14**.

TASK: **Find a way to open the door.**

I'd love to hear in a review how you get the answer (if you do). It's really good! Check the next chapter for the solution!


	7. Chapter 7: In the Evening, Part 1

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG…dunno, see how the later chapters go…

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

The review count is ever so slowly increasing, so I'm in a very good mood! Keep reviewing. They make me happier than a happy clam made of pureed happy. But anyway, here's the next chapter, with the ingenious solution!

* * *

Layton placed Luke's pencil into the protractor and started taking measurements. Along the door, he started to write down mathematical calculations, and marking certain points on the circle.

"How is this going to help solve the puzzle?" Luke asked, but Layton remained focused in his work. Eventually, he placed his finger back onto the circle's centre, and started to move his finger in circular shapes, only stopping when he reached the smaller circle Layton had drawn inside the larger one. From there, he ran his finger towards the edge, and the red sphere wasn't able to catch him. The lock turned green, and Layton opened the door. He held it open, however, to rub out his calculations.

"That's brilliant!" Luke said, astonished.

"Of course," said Layton. "The trick is to move in a manner other than a straight line, otherwise you would soon be caught. By moving in circles and getting bigger, the red sphere slowly falls behind. What I was calculating was how big I could make that circle before it started to catch up, in this case, four times smaller than the original circle."*

"I…um…don't get it," remarked a confused Luke. "But at least the door's open!"

"Quite." Then Layton started coughing. The room they had entered was very dusty. The people who worked here were certainly right about the office not being used in a long time.

Taking some time to clear their lungs of the dust, the group began surveying the abandoned desk. All that was there were a few pots containing various pens and pencils, some elastic bands, a dusty glass paperweight, an unused telephone and typewriter, and a few scattered sweets. Certainly nothing interesting. But then…

"Hmm?" Layton noticed a green file poking from underneath the clutter. But the file itself was not what was interesting. It was the picture in the corner; the picture of a black condor.

"Luke, Flora," Layton said slowly. "I think I may have stumbled upon something of note after all."

Luke and Flora stopped rummaging through some desk drawers and joined up with Layton. Flora gasped. "That's the same picture as the one on the card in the package!"

Taking great care not to spill anything on the desk onto the floor, Layton pulled out the file, blew the dust off it, and opened it. Inside were some profiles of various rogues and thieves, mostly on each member of SNATCH. Layton sat down on the floor, the only clear space in the office, and read through the profiles with Flora and Luke.

"I wonder who SNATCH are," Flora thought aloud. "What does SNATCH even mean, anyway?"

"Well, perhaps any questions that we have can be answered in the profiles," Layton said simply. He looked at the profile of a man called Sid 'Nasty' Nolands, leader of SNATCH.

_Believed to be responsible of over forty of the world's most valuable jewels, Nolands steals gems wherever, and whenever he can. Currently trying to smuggle gems out of Germany. Teamed up with the Crime Hosts five years ago. Gang members include Sam Mackintosh, Spikey Muffin and Jane 'Can't Spell' Homes. Has never been caught._

"Sounds like a real piece of work, don't you think Professor?" came Luke's voice. Layton looked up from Sid Nolands' profile, and turned to the one Luke was looking at, laid down on the floor. This one concerned Spikey Muffin, one of Noland's gang. With her profile contained her prison photo, with her prisoner number 43501707 stamped in the corner.

_Has been a member of SNATCH since it was formed five years ago. Has been in and out of prison 11 times, with the last arrest being for trying to smuggle diamonds out of _Diamond Händler, _known for dealing in gems found in the Black Eagle Diamond Mine in Angola. Known to have interacted with 'LOREV' the person responsible for buying and selling all SNATCH's stolen gems._

"Hmm, interesting…" Flora said. "But what does SNATCH mean? I'm still no nearer to finding that out."

"I think, my dear," said Layton, "the answer's right there in the profiles. Read them again."

* * *

*Confused by Layton's solution?

Well, as he said, the trick is to move in circles and gradually make the circle bigger. The reason the sphere falls behind is because the circle you're creating starts close to the centre, so it has a small circumference. The circumference of the 30cm circle is pi times diameter (3.14 x 30 = 94.2 cm). Divide it by four, which is how much slower your finger is, and you get 22.55 cm. That means the maximum size your circle can be is 22.55 cm in circumference and its radius (half its diameter) is calculated as 3.74 cm. Since you are travelling 3.74 cm from the centre, you can dash the last 11.26 cm to the edge and the red sphere can't catch you! That's because half the 30 cm circle's circumference is 47.1 cm, less than 45.04 cm (11.26 x4)!

**Post note:** Yes, I know, it was mean, but it's something, isn't it. This one's much nicer, worth 25 Picarats. Here are the key facts:

All the profiles are listed in the chapter.

You'll need to read each one over to find your answer.

TASK: **Find out what SNATCH means.**

Next chapter sees the gang wrap up the first day of investigation!


	8. Chapter 8: In the Evening, Part 2

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG…dunno, see how the later chapters go…

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Thanks to PrimalCore for pointing out in the summary that the story doesn't take place in America, as the summary says! The reason for the mistake was because I was going to base it there at first, but since I wasn't sure whether if the Layton-verse takes place in 1928 or 2008, I thought a ferry to America would take too long, so I set in closer to home instead. I forgot to change the summary, though. I think I've fixed it now. Anyway, here's the next chapter and the solution, enjoy!

* * *

Flora read over the profiles, as instructed. "Oh! Sid Nolands teamed up with the Crime Hosts five years ago! So SNATCH must stand for 'Sid Nolands and the Crime Hosts'!"

Layton nodded. "Exactly." He looked around the dusty office, and then sighed. "Well, apart from all this, I don't think there's anything else worth noting."

"Should we take them with us, Professor?" asked Luke.

"Now, Luke, it's unbecoming of a gentleman to take what isn't his," Layton remarked. "Any evidence taken should be left with Inspector Chelmey. Now then, I can see that it's getting dark outside. Let's find a hotel to spend the night."

Luke nodded, and the three of them placed the file back where they found it, and hurried out of the office.

The hotel was next to the office, a few blocks down. Layton checked into the hotel, and soon had a room. It seemed comfortable enough, with a bed for each of them, and after they had gotten ready for bed, Luke and Flora were asleep at once. Layton however, stayed awake for a while.

Ever since they arrived in Germany, Layton had an odd feeling that they were being watched. It might have been unfounded, but the Professor's instinct was hardly ever wrong. But who could it be? Ever since he had been handed the package on the train, he couldn't shake it…

But, there was little point worrying about it now. There was still much to investigate tomorrow, and so, he put it out of his mind for now and fell asleep.

The next morning arrived quickly. Layton and the others woke up, and after preparations for the morning, they went down for breakfast. They sat down with their meals (Luke's being very generously portioned in particular), and Layton noticed that Chelmey and Barton were sitting at the table next to them.

"Ah, good morning, Inspector," Layton said politely.

"Layton," Chelmey acknowledged, with his mouth full of toast. "So, how'd your little search go?"

"Well, we've found out more about the criminal gang known as SNATCH, but that's about as far as we've gotten," Layton sighed. He turned down to his table, and took a mouthful of cornflakes.

"Well, I reckon our investigation turned out as well as yours," Chelmey said fretfully, buttering his other piece of toast. "Everything Crow's told us were things that were already in the papers, so no joy there. What are you going to do now?"

"Well, I thought that I should pay a visit to the Black Eagle Diamond Mine sometime."

"Ah, so you think SNATCH is involved in the Shining Stone's theft too, eh, Layton?"

"It's a bit too early to be drawing conclusions just yet," Layton said, steadily.

"You think so?" Chelmey barked. "They must have done it! Why, yesterday I came upon a raid at the local jeweller's just yesterday!"

Luke, remembering to mind his manners, as a gentleman, downed his mouthful of bagel and asked urgently, "What? What happened?"

"Well, we went round to Gertrude Williams's house, but only Rook was at home. It was only after we had finished questioning him, when we were leaving, that we saw a load of police cars heading to one spot. So we drove there, and we saw it! The window was totally smashed, and most of the jewels were gone."

"That's…unfortunate, to be sure," Layton remarked.

"Too right. And the one thing that made me SURE that it was SNATCH, was this!"

Chelmey took a photo out of his pocket, and unfolded it. This was the photo of the crime scene, and Layton could see the smashed window. The only pieces of jewellery left was a necklace and a few rings. There was also a red tin can lying inside amongst the surviving gems.

"SNATCH always uses tin cans to smuggle jewels," Chelmey explained. "But it looks like they were found in the act, and forgot about it this time!"

Chelmey bit into his toast. "Something tells me we've got a hot new lead here. So I'll be staying for a while, working on this incident. Good luck with your little scavenger hunt."

He downed the rest of his tea after finishing his toast. "Come on, Barton. We're leaving."

"Y-yes, sir." Barton said, with a mouthful of cornflakes, and he hurried after Chelmey.

Just then, Layton spotted out of the corner of his eye, a familiar sight, but he wasn't sure about what it was about the woman she noticed that seemed familiar. He kept a close eye on the woman, as he got up from the table, and she buried her head behind the newspaper she was reading.

"Luke, Flora," Layton whispered. "I think we're being watched."

Flora gave a quiet gasp. "Really, Professor?" Luke asked quietly.

"Yes. Just follow me and don't say a word. I want to check something out."

Unsure as to what the Professor would do, Flora and Luke walked obediently behind. Layton walked over to the hotel counter and pretended to inspect the leaflets, and noticed the woman was following closely behind. To check if she would panic, Layton pretended not to notice her, and turned around abruptly, bumping into her. She gasped, and she dropped her handbag, spilling its contents. There were things one would expect to see in a handbag, like some makeup and a purse, but far more interesting than those was a piece of paper amongst the clutter.

_Fellow members, _it read_,_

_If you take my eye to be a bee,_

_The rest is simple, you'll agree._

_It will make my jay your sea,_

_And later make my bee be you._

_Don't believe me? Try, it's true._

Before Layton could think about what the message meant, the woman, without a word, picked up her belongings, including the note, and put them back in the handbag. She then hurried back in the direction of the guest hotel rooms.

Layton thought about what the message meant, and then he remembered. The message in the package's box!

"Luke!" Layton whispered urgently. "That message in the box. May I see it, please?"

Confused, Luke handed the note out of his bag to the Professor. As Layton followed the woman, he read through the message again. "I knew it. That note in her handbag. It's the key to cracking this message."

"Really?" Flora said, eyes wide open.

"Of course," Layton said. "It says…"

* * *

**Post note:** Well, WHAT is it? This puzzle's no biggie, worth 25 Picarats. Here are the key facts:

_If you take my eye to be a bee, The rest is simple, you'll agree. It will make my jay your sea, And later make my bee be you. Don't believe me? Try, it's true._

The package's message says: MLSSVP JRPTX AHLML, AOL RLF VWLUZ AOL ZPAL VMMPJLAV AOL I.L.K.T. DOHA FVB ULLK PZ PU AOLYL. ZUHAJO.

TASK: **Decode the message.**

Next chapter sees the gang find out more about this mysterious woman.


	9. Chapter 9: Time to Skedaddle

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG…dunno, see how the later chapters go…

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

I feel so foolish. The puzzle code I set up had some spelling mistakes, as one reviewer pointed out. Thanks, I've fixed it now. But, spelling issues aside, here's the next chapter, and the solution to the last puzzle!

* * *

"Fellow Crime Hosts, The key opens the site office to the B.E.D.M. What you need is in there. SNATCH."

"I would wager B.E.D.M stands for Black Eagle Diamond Mine," the Professor said, not taking his eye off the woman.

They had reached the hotel room where she was apparently staying, and she had locked herself in. The Professor pressed his ear against the keyhole, trying to listen in. He heard a few faint voices for several minutes, before he heard the sound of a window being shattered. Startled, Layton paused, before knocking on the door.

"Hello? Are you alright?" There was no reply. Layton knocked again, but the result was the same. Finally, he began inspecting the door from top to bottom.

"Doesn't look very strong. A bit of excessive force should open it. I'm going in!"

Layton gave the door a hard kick before Luke or Flora could protest, and they burst into the room. The window to the fire escape was open and the room was totally deserted. The table in the middle of the room had some red and yellow poker chips and some playing cards, bearing a black back, on the table. The rest were scattered on the floor, along with most of the cards. Lying on the edge was a crushed red tin can. Layton spotted the can, and frowned.

"I think that this woman is quite strongly tied to our little friends, SNATCH, after all."

Luke couldn't see what Layton was talking about, until he saw that the Professor was watching the tin scrap. "Wait, I've seen that somewhere before…"

"You have," agreed Layton. "Remember when the Inspector showed that photo of the break-in to us? He described how they always use red tin cans like this to smuggle stolen jewels."

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Flora said quietly.

"I do too, my dear. I think we should head back to our hotel room, and think about we've seen." They nodded, and they left the room, quickly. They immediately headed back to their old room, and Layton opened the door. What they were greeted by was a terrible shock.

The room looked like it had been totally ransacked. Evidently, someone came in here searching for something from top to bottom. Everything in the room that could be moved somewhere else was lying in a heap all over the floor. Even the tubes of toothpaste were emptied out. On the pillow of Layton's bed was a far from friendly message.

_U were givun the map and messug by mistayk. Go home and furget abowt the Shyning Ston or else. Take my advise. You hav been warmed._

"This is terrible, Professor!" Luke gasped in shock.

Layton had a grim look on his face. He began searching amongst the clutter, until he pulled out an unfamiliar object - a shiny sapphire ring.

"Luke, Flora. Look at this."

Luke and Flora looked at the ring Layton was holding, carefully.

"I don't think it belongs to any of us…" Flora said slowly.

"Do you remember? That woman on the train? She was wearing a ring just like this one."

Luke gasped. "So, the woman who was following us and the one who gave us the package…"

"…Are one and the same person!" Flora finished.

"Jane Homes, well known in SNATCH for being quite illiterate, as you can tell by the note," Layton concluded. "You've read about her in Mrs Williams's office."

"W-what now?" Luke asked, eyes open with fear. "We should get out of here!"

"Of course, right after we've reported the burglary to the authorities."

"But, we'll be asked all sorts of questions, like what the break-in has to do with us!"

"These rooms are house kept by staff regularly," Layton explained. "If we don't tell anyone about this, they'll discover it for themselves. So we might as well."

Layton picked up the note from the pillow and stuffed it into his pocket. He didn't want to answer any awkward questions and blow their cover, should the police catch up to them.

"I'm going to the help desk. Luke, Flora, wait for me outside. I'd like to leave quickly, if I may."

Layton and the others were soon back on the train, heading towards the airport. The Professor was glad to leave the whole mess behind and continue their investigation.

"I still feel bad," Luke sighed, as the scenery rolled by. "Leaving all those confused people behind."

"I do too, my boy," said Layton fretfully. "But that would have meant we would have stayed in Germany for a lot longer, and we would have lost our only lead."

"So, you said that we were going to the Black Eagle Diamond Mine, Professor?" Flora asked, hoping to liven up the mood a little.

"Well, that's where the Shining Stone originally came from, so I'm hoping this will provide us with a new lead, if nothing else."

The two of them spent the rest of the journey in silence, with the events of the day still swimming in their minds.

Layton, Luke and Flora were soon at the local airport, waiting for a flight to Angola. Luke flopped on the seats, a dull expression on his face. "I don't like planes very much. It takes so long to wait for them."

"Well, I know a few good puzzles that should while away our two hour wait. Do you want to hear some?"

"Ah, yes!" Flora said eagerly. "I haven't been told any by you for a while, Professor!"

"Alright. Here's yours, Flora.

"An entertainer has a troupe of performers, with performances in Vegas, San Diego and Los Angeles. They are to split into three teams, with each one performing in one city each. To avoid his acts going stale, he doesn't ever let them know which team they will be working with, and decides them using the following method: they are to turn up independently, at the airport, at any random time during departure day, and then take the first flight to any of the three destinations. Since the number of flights to each city are equal, the entertainer expects an even split. However, as he observes the situation from his Hollywood home, he discovers that twenty-five of the performers arrived in Vegas, while only two arrived in San Diego and three ended up in LA. None of the staff disobeyed instructions, and there were indeed an equal number of flights, so what went wrong?"

* * *

**Post note:** Well, how does Flora get the answer? This puzzle is worth 40 Picarats, I would think. Here's the key facts:

Three destinations.

Equal number of daily flights to each destination.

Staff arrive at random times throughout the day.

Staff catch the first flight to any of the three destinations.

Staff follow instructions properly.

The result is not a 10:10:10 split but a 25:2:3 split.

TASK: **Figure out what went horribly wrong.**

Back to logic puzzles again, since codes are the only visual puzzles I can do, and I think they're getting old.

Next chapter takes place all the way in Africaaaaa!


	10. Chapter 10: Snoots and Co

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG.

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

I'm actually quite impressed I've managed to carry this fic this far. Makes everything all worthwhile. Keep reviewing guys, I like reviews.

Here's the next chapter, and the solution to the last puzzle.

* * *

Flora spent a long time on the puzzle, mumbling to herself about the key facts, and by the time she had the answer, it was time to board the plane.

"Ah! The flight times! They were arranged so that most of the people arriving had no choice but to fly to Vegas! Because if one flight to LA was at ten in the morning and another flight to Vegas was at half past eleven, for instance, you'd have to board the Vegas flight 'cause the LA flight's taken off!"

"Exactly," the Professor nodded, as they walked up the steps into the plane. "Imagine that the Vegas flight was at ten, the San Diego flight at 11:36 and the LA flight at two pm. If you turned up anytime between 2pm one day and 10am the next day, you'd have to get the Vegas flight. So, you'd have a 20 in 24 chance of going to Vegas, a 1.6 in 24 chance of going to San Diego, and 2.4 in 24 chance of ending up in LA. Hence the 25:2:3 split."

"…Did you give that one so you wouldn't have to think of too many others?" Luke asked suspiciously.

Layton shrugged. "Perhaps."

Flora groaned. "All this maths makes my head hurt."

Upon arrival into Angola, Layton bought a map from the souvenir shop, and together, they took the Laytonmobile to the entrance of the Black Eagle Diamond Mine. It took a long time, and to pass the time, they spent the journey setting each other puzzles (Layton kept getting his in almost no time at all, and both Luke and Flora gave up setting him any more). Eventually, they arrived. The entrance to the mine looked locked quite tight, and didn't show any signs of wear. It seemed that they weren't heading inside anytime soon. Outside, there was a small office building situated by the walls of the mine. There was a note on the door, reading, "Geschlossen für die jährliche Tag der Arbeit Urlaub. Bitte besuchen Sie uns auf der dritten Mai". Layton guessed that this was the site office mentioned in the package's note. He took the key out of its box, and unlocked the door. The room of the office was well kept, apart from the table area, which was covered in the rings of coffee stains, and some mining clothes with the black condor emblazoned on them. There were also many stamps strewn all over, most of them either red or blue, but each bearing the same diamond shaped pattern.

"I don't think there's anything worth taking, from a crook's point of view," Luke remarked. "Was the note wrong, do you think?"

"I'm not sure," Layton answered. "It could be that SNATCH thought that since the Shining Stone came from Germany, in a place where they deal with what is mined here, they thought that there was a valuable prize of some sort in here. So it could be a mistake. Or perhaps someone else moved everything that was valuable to someplace else."

"But how could SNATCH have the key to here in the first place?"

"Remember the profile on that woman in Mrs Williams's office? Spikey Muffin? She was last arrested trying to smuggle diamonds out of here. She may have been able to get a hold of the key at some point. So…"

"Then, we came here for nothing? This is a dead end?"

"Well, even if we came to the mine for nothing," the Professor said, "I would not say that the trip may turn out entirely unfruitful just yet." Layton pulled out the map, and pointed to another building near the mine. "According to the map, there is a delivery service in the vicinity. Perhaps they can shed some light on the mystery."

"Why them, Professor?" Flora asked.

"Well, I heard that they, Snoots and Co Deliveries, were the ones who sent Mr Hammond the Shining Stone in the first place. I was hoping to speak to the branch in Germany, but in light of what happened back there..."

"Well, it's a shame to head back so soon, I suppose," Luke said. "Let's go, Professor!"

"Quite," said Layton, heavily. "Let us leave, and quickly. I'm not about to answer any more questions to anyone who finds us here."

Snoots and Co Deliveries turned out to be a grand looking building, obviously very busy looking, with people all over the place typing away at the computer on the desk they were sitting at. Layton, Luke and Flora waited by the entrance, until a bald African man in a black suit walked over to them.

"Hello en welkom. Hoe kan ek u help?"

"Um..." said Layton, trying to do what he can to overcome the upcomong language barrier. "I'm here about..."

"Ah, English?" said the man. His accent was rather thick, but Layton seemed to understand him well enough.

"Oh, yes," the Professor nodded, glad at the fact he didn't have to work so hard. "Um...I'm Professor Layton. I'd like to ask about one of your clients, Mr Jake Hammond, I'm...a friend of his..."

"Hammond? I will check." The man hurried by an unoccupied computer, and searched through the records. A few minutes later, he came back. "Yes, Mr Hammond was a client for one of our branches in Germany before. He was a regular client. You are a friend of his?"

"Yes," Layton said again. "I want to ask about one of the things that he asked the company to deliver, something called the 'Shining Stone...'"

"Ah, yes. If you could come with me, please?" The man gestured to Layton and the others to sit by the desk for clients. There was only one seat, so Layton and Luke, being gentleman and gentleman-in-training, offered the seat to Flora.

"The Shining Stone," the man said, looking at the computer, "was the last thing Hammond asked the branch in Germany to deliver. This is it."

The record on the computer showed a photo of the contents of the package, which made Layton open his eyes in astonishment. For the photo showed little more than a glass-cut paperweight sitting on a red table. Surely this couldn't really be the Shining Stone? However, he kept his composure, and nodded.

"Mr Hammond said that he was very worried about thieves, it was that valuable," said the man.

"So, how was the package going to be delivered?" Layton asked.

The man typed for a bit onto the computer. "It says that it was given to him at his home by hand, no stamp required," he said eventually.

"No...stamp required?" There was something about what he said that seemed a bit strange to Layton. He thought back to the package he saw in John Maples's office. Wasn't there...?

"Um, thank you for you time. You've been a great help," Layton said finally, tipping his silk hat. "If it's not too much trouble, could I have a copy of that report?"

"What for?"

Layton paused. It was against a gentleman's principles to outright lie to another person, but at the same time, he couldn't tell him about the whole incident involving its theft...what to do?

"I'm...researching into as much as I can about the Shining Stone," Layton said delicately. "It was important to...Jake, after all, so..."

"I see. Just a minute." The man clicked on the screen a few times, and out of the nearby printer, a copy of the delivery report came out, which the man gave to Layton.

"Thank you. I'm sorry to take up much of your time..."

"It was no problem," smiled the man. "Perhaps you are thinking of our help in the future. We have a few branches in England."

"We'll see. Thank you so much for your help." And with that, the trio walked out of the building with their vital evidence in hand.

"Professor? You've been staring at that report for some time. Is something up?" Luke asked, noticing that the Professor had not stopped boring holes into the paper he was reading, as they headed back to the Laytonmobile.

Startled, Layton turned to Luke. "I'm fine. But, Luke, do you remember the time we visited Mr Maples's office?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Did the package that Mr Maples show us have a stamp on it? Do you remember?"

Luke thought as hard as he could. "It had a...white one, I think? I don't remember much else."

"I think I have a firmer grasp of what happened, but I think that should wait for now. I want to head back to Scotland and tell May everything. She hasn't heard from us for days, and must surely be worried."

Back at the airport, Layton and the others were walking to their flight, when they saw a peculiar sight. Each of the barriers letting them into the grounds were shutting themselves locked or unlocked in a very strange manner, and some were unlocking or locking themselves almost as soon as they were changed the first time. Layton saw a man with a black beard and dirty overalls wielding a toolbox, trying to fix the controls, until eventually, each of the barriers appeared closed.

Layton walked over to the mechanic. "Is something the matter, sir?"

The man looked up at Layton. "Well, it's the barriers in the airport. All one hundred of them went haywire when I tried to open some of them up. I pressed the button once, an' they all slammed shut, just like that. Then I press the button again, an' then every second barrier stayed shut while the rest opened. Then every third set decided to change again, then every forth set joined in..."

He sighed. "An' it went on like this an' all, one hundred times, it did. I've shut them up, for now. But I'll have to inform the passengers which ones still work and which ones are closed."

"Well, I think I can be of assistance here," Layton informed the man, his brain already working on the solution. "From what you've described to me, the ones still open are..."

* * *

**Post note:** Well, how does Layton get the answer? This puzzle is worth 50 Picarats, I would think. Here are the key facts:

One hundred barriers between each passenger and their flights, and one hundred reactions from the barriers.

On the first movement every barrier is closed.

On the second movement every second barrier stays closed while the others open up.

On the third movement every barrier is toggled, i.e. opened if closed or closed if opened.

Process continues until the hundredth movement.

TASK: **Figure out how many barriers are closed before they are damaged and no longer respond.**

Ooh, the mystery's coming together now. I'm rather excited! Keep reviewing; anything from happy expressions to constructive criticism is nice!

Next chapter sees the Professor and the others on the flight back to Scotland!


	11. Chapter 11: Back to London, Part 1

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG.

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

I'm actually quite impressed I've managed to carry this fic this far. Makes everything all worthwhile. Keep reviewing guys, I like reviews.

Here's the next chapter, and the solution to the last puzzle.

* * *

"…the first, the fourth, the ninth, the sixteenth, the twenty-fifth, the thirty-sixth, the forty-ninth, the sixty-fourth, the eighty-first, and the hundredth barrier. So ten barriers in total are still open."

Luke looked bewildered. "More maths, Professor?"

"Well, yes," said Layton. "The barrier will only be opened if they are toggled an odd number of times, so I had to think of numbers that had an odd number of factors (numbers that can make up another when multiplied) so they had no option but to open. So I thought of square numbers almost immediately. Like four times four."

The man scratched his head. "Well, if you say so. Thanks for your help. I'd better tell the manager about this."

And with that, he walked off, toolbox in hand. Layton, Luke and Flora meanwhile, stepped through the first barrier, and walked to the flight back to London.

Once all three were on board the plane, and getting comfortable in their seats, Layton noticed a familiar looking inspector and his vertically challenged assistant trying to find an empty seat. Chelmey in turn saw Layton, and walked over.

"Oh, hello, Layton," Chelmey said gruffly. "You're back rather early. Not enough evidence, or something?"

"I wouldn't say that," Layton replied. "I just stumbled across some interesting information, and I wanted to confirm it back in London. And give May no cause to worry. So how is your investigation?"

Chelmey gave a grunt of annoyance. "Well, I went to that old mine, the Black Eagle mine, or whatever it's name is, and then before I knew it some policemen found me and took me in for questioning! It took me ages to convince them I was a fellow inspector! But, eventually they believed me, and they showed me a few things that they found were being used to smuggle gems out of Africa. Old tin cans, ordinary bracelets, the works. But apart from that, not much, so I'm heading back." He sounded annoyed, and Layton had no trouble guessing why. Layton, a simple archeology professor, had gotten further into the case than Chelmey (again) and probably had an idea about the thief, too. But then, Chelmey's face lit up. He just remembered something, and, hoping that it would give him one over Layton, he said to Barton, "Hey, Barton. Pass me that note we found."

"Yes sir." Barton reached into the inspector's briefcase and took out a piece of notepaper. On it, it read,

'IHDXK VHFIXMBHG TM AHMXE. PX'KX NLBGZ FR VTKWL MABL MBFX. LBW.'

"This was found at the hotel in Germany, where we stayed." Chelmey looked at Layton suspiciously. "And the girl at the desk said one of the rooms was ransacked. Yours."

Layton sighed. "Well, on the way to Germany, I noticed that we were being followed by a woman. So I decided to track her, to see how she would react, and I followed her up to her hotel room, she broke out of the window, and when I got back to my room, it was a mess." He was careful not to mention the badly-spelt note that Layton took with him, and what it said, in fear of more questions.

Chelmey raised an eyebrow. "So you say. So out with it. What made you leave in such a hurry? And who was following us?"

"We already explained to the hotel staff about the affair. I just wanted to leave before things got worse. We were already pressed for time in our investigation. And that woman was someone from SNATCH, I think."

"SNATCH? How can you be sure?"

"You investigated that woman's room, correct? Do you remember seeing a red tin can...?"

"SNATCH use tin cans to smuggle jewels," Luke piped up.

Chelmey paused. "Yes," he said slowly, "I _do_ remember that. So you think that woman overheard about the Shining Stone and followed us in the hope we would find it for her?"

"I would think so," nodded Layton, relieved that the inspector believed their story. "I think she gave up when she was discovered, however."

Layton paused. Deciding to carry the conversation further, he added, "So, about that note...?"

"Ah yes," Chelmey said. "Looked at it all day. Didn't have the foggiest clue what it said. Any thoughts?"

Layton looked at the paper. This was very similar to the note in the package they recieved on the train. If the note really was by someone from SNATCH, would the same code apply here too? He frowned in concentration, and began cracking the message.

* * *

**Post note:** Well, how does Layton get the answer? This puzzle is worth 30 Picarats, I would think. Here are the key facts:

'IHDXK VHFIXMBHG TM AHMXE. PX'KX NLBGZ FR VTKWL MABL MBFX. LBW' reads the note.

Same code as before applies here.

TASK: **Decode the message.**

Sorry about the late update. Real life sucks. I'd rather have one where exams didn't suck.

Next time in P.L.A.T.S.S (what a strange abbreviation), it's back to London to find the final piece of the puzzle that is the mystery!


	12. Chapter 12: Back to London, Part 2

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG.

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Woo, the twelfth chapter and things are looking good. I'm close to revealing the mystery, but I'm not good at writing out massive fighty action sequences. Especially the ones involving making a copter out of bits and pieces, like Layton always does. Gah…could you suggest something, in your reviews, plz?

Here's the next chapter, and the solution to the last puzzle.

* * *

"Poker competition at hotel. We're using my cards this time. Sid."

Chelmey looked disappointed. "There was a poker game in the room with a broken window. So this is a red herring?"

Layton nodded. "I'm afraid so, Inspector."

Just then, there was an announcement over the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for flying with Not-Very-Difficultjet. We will be showing our in-flight movie in 10 minutes."

"Ah, I've heard about this movie. Something about a teenage romance about sparkling vampires," Luke said, looking through the in-flight magazine for the movie summary. "Dad saw it once. He said it was 'time he would pay anything to get back'."

"Well, you'll never know if you'll like it or not if you don't watch it," said Layton.

"St Mystere didn't have a cinema," Flora mused, thinking of her old home before she came to live with the Professor, "so I haven't actually heard of this movie."

"Well, perhaps you should see for yourself what it's like," Layton remarked. "We have about two hours to spare before we arrive, anyhow."

After arriving in London, Layton's group and Chelmey's got into their respective cars and began driving to May's house to reprt their findings (Layton making sure Luke was holding the map the right way up this time). They spent the journey talking about the movie's plot (with even Layton quite confused as to the events that occured. Luke came to the conclusion that it was because Layton was a practical, well-versed man, as opposed to the movie's protagonists), and Flora and Luke setting each other puzzles. Eventually, they arrived back at May's house, and saw that Chelmey's car was outside. Layton rang the doorbell, and May answered the door.

"Oh, Professor! The Inspector said you'd be arriving shortly..." Her face was white with worry.

"Don't worry May, we've arrived back in one piece," smiled Layton. "In any case, we need to share a few things we found with you, if that's alright..."

"Ah, of course. You should come in, I'd love to hear about what you discovered."

Layton, Luke and Flora spent a while chatting to May about their adventures. In the middle of the conversation, Layton took out the copy of the report from Snoots and Co.

"I asked the company responsible for its delivery, and I found this photograph attatched to it." He showed the photo of the glass paperweight to May, with his doubts about it being the Shining Stone still nagging at him.

May stared at the photo. Then she giggled. "Oh, my uncle was always sending people those sort of paperweights."

"I'm sorry?" Layton inquired.

"Oh, Uncle Hammond sent his friends and relatives the same thing every special occasion that happened. Christmas was the worst offender. A glass paperweight, every year. Of course, he gave them other things, but that was just a quirk that he had..."

"But why would he want a paperweight _back_?" asked Luke.

May shrugged. "The whole thing was just a joke he liked. I'm not sure how he got the paperweights, though...made them, I suppose."

Just then, a man with a grey beard and glasses carrying a collection of butterflies in a case, walked into the room, and said, Miss Simpson, we'd like a few words about these things that were donated to the museum."

May nodded. "Is this what you were doing while we were away?" Flora asked.

"Yes," May said. "I'm helping to sort a few items that can or can't be displayed at Edinburgh Museum. They were all things that my uncle's friends donated to him. But all of these donor's names were written in my uncle's little code language." She sighed. "Always did like puzzles. He never showed me how to decode them, though..."

"May, my dear," Layton said briskly. "I've had my fair share of codes in the past week. Allow me to be of assistance."

Layton stared at some of the names on the tags. The donors' addresses were written in English, but the names were coded. "Nzib Irxph." "Qrn Xzigvi."

Layton, however, managed to conjure up the solution in minutes. "It's all written in reverse. For example, you read A as Z, B as Y, and so on."

Luke reached into his bag, and scribbled the solution to the code on a piece of paper and handed it to May. May smiled. "I knew you'd get it, Professor," she said, reading Luke's writing and deciphering the writing. "Mary Ricks...Jim Carter..."

Just then, the same man with the butterflies cleared his throat. "There's another thing. The man responsible for the delivery of these things wants that gold chain out of the collection as payment. He doesn't want cash. And he'd rather you pay up front, too."

May groaned. "That chain came from Arabia, it's really valuable, and I'm reluctant to part with it. But I do need these items off my hands, so..." May got up, about to look through the items, but the man continued. "The boss knows how much that chain's worth, so he knew you wouldn't let go of it so easy. That's why he's going to cut a deal. He wants to be paid one link of the chain for every item we deliver to the museum."

"That's sixty-three links, since there's sixty-three items...but the chain's made up of sixty-three links exactly..." May sighed.

"Oh, one more thing. You said this chain's really expensive, right? Well, the boss agrees, so he doesn't want any more than three breaks in the chain. Otherwise it's value would plummet."

May thought about a way out, but couldn't think of one. "Ok," she said, slowly and reluctantly. "I'll get it."

May left the room, and less than a minute later, she came back with the chain. It looked like any old steel chain you would find on a playground swing, except for the gold colour, and the fact it was quite small. With enough force, one could snap the chain.

"Why does he want to be paid up front?" Luke wondered.

"Perhaps he's wary in case May decides not to pay him," Flora guessed.

"But I can't break it more than three times?" May asked, stumped. "How am I supposed to pay him, then?"

"I think there is a way," Layton remarked. "You have to hand over one link for every item delivered, correct? So..."

* * *

**Post note:** Ah hah, don't worry. I wouldn't make the code this chapter's puzzle. I'm not that lazy, and I don't like doing codes anyway. But anyway, how does Layton get the answer? This puzzle is worth 50 Picarats, I would think. Here are the key facts:

Sixty-three links in a straight chain.

No more than three links can be broken.

TASK: **Find a way to hand over the chain one link at a time.**

Next time in P.L.A.T.S.S (what a strange abbreviation), to the museum, where the next stage of the mystery awaits! Keep reviewing guys, they keep me going.


	13. Chapter 13:  Back to London, Part 3

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG.

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Hello again. I'm taking time to tell everyone that my exams are looming over me like an extraordinarily depressing tree, so I probably won't be able to update this as much as I'd like to. Hopefully, when this all blows over in two weeks, I can get round to finishing, but I'd just like to give you a heads up.

Here's the next chapter, and the solution to the last puzzle.

* * *

Layton snapped the fifth link in the chain, and separated the other two parts, carefully passing them through the gap, resulting in a four link chain, the single broken chain link, which he then held up, and the fifty-eight link chain. "You should realise that these little breaks will make up you first three payments, since this chain can only be broken three times."

"Ah, this is like the puzzle Mr Maples set us!" Luke realised. "You have to swap each piece of the chain several times if you want to pay one link at a time!"

"Precisely, my boy," Layton smiled. "So, the next break in the chain must be at the ninth link, because the three soon-to-be-broken pieces and the four link piece make up seven, and you need a way to pay the man on the eighth delivery. So you need a chain that is eight links long."

Layton began snapping two other links in the chain. "So working on that principle, you need to break here, at the ninth link, and here, at the seventeenth link, leaving us with three single links, a four link chain, an eight link chain, a sixteen link chain, and a thirty-two link chain."

May did look astonished. Then she smiled. "Thanks, Professor. I think I know how to pay him back now. I just need to swap the pieces around each time, right?"

"Oh, yeah," said Flora, remembering Layton's earlier suspicions. "Talking about Mr Maples, Professor, shouldn't we go see him?"

"Ah, yes," the Professor remembered. "Is the museum open at this time? I need to talk with Mr Maples again."

"Hmm? About what?" May asked.

"There's something I need clarifying…" Layton said slowly, his thoughts coming together about the mystery. Just then, Chelmey and Barton walked into the room, Barton scribbling furiously into the notebook.

"Oh, there you are, Layton. I've been writing up a list of suspects. Well, Barton has, but anyway, I'm no nearer to discovering who stole the Stone. I've had all of my best men from Scotland Yard all over town while I was gone, but there's nothing to show that SNATCH ever found it. What about you?"

"SNATCH? That criminal ring that specialises in stolen jewels? The one you told me about?" May asked Layton. He nodded.

"I'm going to the museum to confirm my suspicions. Inspector, would you like to come with me? It might help your investigation if you clarify a few things with him."

"Ah, may I join you?" May asked. "I've got a few things to do at the museum, actually. Sort out the new staff timetables. Can you wait until I've got all these things delivered?"

Recalling that May would rather keep the gold chain in her sights until the deal was done, he nodded.

Once May was happy that everything to go to the museum was loaded into the van, and she paid the deliverers with the chain, she got into the Laytonmobile along with Luke and Flora, and Chelmey took his car. Together, they drove to the museum, and before long, they found themselves outside John Maple's office again. They knocked on the door, and the familiar voice said "Come in."

Layton's group, May and Chelmey entered the office, and Hammond was sitting at the desk. Layton saw that the package was no longer sitting on the desk.

"Ah, Professor. Inspector. What can I do for you?" Maples said, looking up from his paperwork."

"How have you been keeping?" Luke asked, politely.

"Oh, busy, my boy," Maples sighed. "Policemen contacting me about the Shining Stone, along with all of these donated items…it's been a busy week, I've barely had time to come back to my office."

"You've only gotten a chance to come back here today?" Layton asked.

"Why, yes," Maples nodded. "I just got back seconds ago, and then you showed up. It's been hectic."

"Well, I'm sorry for disturbing you," Layton said, briskly. "But there's something I need to clarify with you…"

"Ask away."

"Mr Maples, what happened to the package?" he asked.

"Oh, that? Well, our friend, the Inspector," he said, gesturing to Chelmey, "came shortly after you left. I've handed the package to them as evidence."

Layton nodded. "Can you tell me about Mr Hammond, what he was like?" he pressed on.

"What he was like?" Maples sighed, rather nostalgically. "Ah, he was always quite the joker. I mean, every year, on every special occasion, he would give his friends a glass cut paperweight…but my, he knew what he liked. He was quite the stamp collector while he was alive."

"Oh yeah, I do remember that there was a stamp collection last time we came here," Flora said.

"Yes, I've still got it by my desk here," Maples said, gesturing to the dirty looking book at the side of his desk. It was lying wide open, with stamps of all different shapes and sizes, some of them, Layton noted, bore the same diamond pattern as the stamps found at the Black Eagle Diamond Mine – Angolan stamps.

"..Thank you."

"I'm sorry?" Maples asked, politely.

"I finally have enough evidence to piece the mystery together."

Chelmey spluttered. "What? How did you do that? Who stole the Shining Stone!"

"…Isn't it obvious?" Layton asked quietly. Luke fidgeted. He had been on enough adventures with the Professor to know that whenever Layton said, "Isn't it obvious?" he was about to drop a bombshell on the entire case.

"The culprit responsible for the theft of the Shining Stone…"

* * *

**Post note:** "SORE WA ANATA DA!"…that's what he says, right?

…And I can't think of a way to incorporate a puzzle into this chapter, so I think I'll just give you one myself. It's actually quite good, but I couldn't think of a reason to use it. This would probably be a Bonus Section post-story puzzle if this was a game, worth 80 Picarats. So here it is…

_A man visits a tribal village to learn about its people and its customs. The village chief tells the man that the tribe is made up of eighty couples, a husband and wife, and that the tribe only has three rules. Firstly, any sort of contact with modern technology is strictly forbidden. Secondly, a man is only answerable to his wife, who, if she discovers that her husband has been breaking any tribal rules, must kill him that very day. Thirdly, tribal members are completely forbidden from interfering in the lives of others, and all stick to this rule diligently. As the man investigates, he discovers that each and every husband has secretly bought themselves a mobile phone, and is keeping it a secret from their wives. He also finds that each wife knows about everything in the village apart from their own husband's discretions. He then stays the night partying with the tribe and lets slip that at least one of the husbands owns a mobile phone. However, the wives don't give it a lot of thought because they know of seventy-nine husbands owning phones. As the man leaves the village next morning, what happens next?_

Here are the key facts:

Eighty couples in the village.

Wives have perfect knowledge of everyone but their own husbands.

Any wife learning that their husband owns a mobile phone must kill him that very same day.

The man lets slip that at least one of the husbands owns a mobile phone.

The wives are (apparently) completely rational beings.

TASK: **Deduce what happens next.**

The culprit may be revealed next chapter, but it doesn't mean the story is over. Keep visiting to find out what's next. And keep reviewing, I like reviews. And any puzzles you know that I can use is always helpful!


	14. Chapter 14: The Chase

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG.

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Hello again. I'm taking time to tell everyone that my exams are looming over me like an extraordinarily depressing tree, so I probably won't be able to update this as much as I'd like to. Hopefully, when this all blows over in two weeks, I can get round to finishing, but I'd just like to give you a heads up.

Here's the next chapter, and the solution to the last puzzle:

_After eighty days all eighty wives kill their husbands._

_If the question was simplified and there were only two couples, then each wife will expect the other to kill their own husbands, since both wives know of one mobile phone owning husband. However, a day passes and nothing happens. That makes one wife realise that the other was expecting her to kill her husband, and the other wife comes to the same conclusion. So they both kill their own husbands._

_If there were three couples, each wife knowing of two wrongdoers, two days pass and nothing happens. Each wife would expect the murders to happen on the second day because they know of two mobile phone owners. They therefore assumed that the other wives only knew about one offender, since they could not know about their own. On the second day, nothing happens, so the wives realise that the other wives know two offenders. Imagine you are one of the wives. The other two could not have known about their own husbands, so the second wrongdoer must be your own husband. The lack of action means that there must be three lawbreakers in total. So the fallen husbands are killed on the third evening._

_This line of reasoning continues in this fashion for any number of couples, in this case, eighty. All wives expect seventy-nine deaths on the seventy-ninth day, but the eightieth day comes and each wife realises that their own husband is a technophile. So on the eightieth day, all eighty husbands are slaughtered._

* * *

"…could only have been YOU!" Layton announced, pointing his finger at Mr Maples.

Maples stepped back. "What? That's absurd! That's not true!"

May gasped. "H-he did it?"

"I finally have all the pieces to put this puzzle together," Layton announced. "Luke, do you remember the way in which the Shining Stone was meant to be delivered to Mr Hammond?"

"Yeah," Luke said. "Hand to hand delivery, no stamp required."

Layton nodded. He took the record copy out of Luke's bag, and showed it to Mr Maples. "And yet, when you showed me the package, Mr Maples, I remember there being a white stamp in the corner. So, why was it there, when the stamp wasn't needed?"

"There was a stamp?" Chelmey asked. "But, when we took the package as evidence, there wasn't a one to be found!"

Layton raised a hand, so Chelmey fell silent, and let him continue. "May's letter to me stated that the Shining Stone was to be sent '_along with the original packaging with which he, my uncle, first received it from Germany.' _He also goes on to mention that_ 'Maples would recognise the Shining Stone's value and would place it on display at the museum'."_

"I quoted from the will when I wrote that letter to you," May said, agreeing with everything the Professor said so far.

"But note that Hammond was very careful not to mention that he received the Shining Stone in the package, and that seems to me very odd. Perhaps that was because the Shining Stone was _never in the package_."

Flora's eyes shot wide open. "But, Professor, if it wasn't in the package, where was it?"

"Well then, let's think about where else it could be," Layton said. "If it's not _in _the package, then that leaves only one place where it could be. Outside the package – on it, as it were."

"Y-you can't possibly mean…" Chelmey gasped, the realisation dawning on him.

Layton nodded. "The Shining Stone is not a valuable jewel of any sort. It is in fact an incredibly rare stamp, valued at three and a half million pounds, and known only to the most expert of expert stamp collectors. It's the only white Angolan diamond-patterned stamp in existence."

Luke whistled. "No wonder everyone, including SNATCH, thought it was a jewel with a name like that!"

"Hammond was always worried about thieves, so he decided to use a trick," Layton said, pressing on, glaring at Maples.

"The photo!" Flora remembered. "He put a paperweight in the package and stuck the stamp outside the parcel, because no-one would realise that the stamp was the prize!"

"Exactly," Layton agreed. "But he knew that Mr Maples _would_ recognise what it was and how much it was worth – he said as much in the will. But when he died and the museum inherited the package, you, Mr Maples, told everyone that the Shining Stone was stolen. You even went along with pretending that you thought it was a jewel!"

"T-that's preposterous!" Maples spluttered. "Why?"

"That was because you were looking for an opportunity to remove the stamp from its packaging. Your wife has expensive tastes for jewels, and you were planning on selling the stamp in secret, to buy more for her."

"B-b-but…" stammered Maples, "you have no proof! Proof I sold the Shining Stone! And who did I sell it to, then, eh?"

Layton smiled. "Mr Maples, I have one last bit of proof. Do you remember when I came to your office? You were called away to speak to someone named Olive, if I'm not mistaken."

"So what?"

"May, do you have the code Luke gave you to work out who donated what with you?"

"Uh, yes," May said, "but what does it…?"

"Write out the name 'Olive' and use the code to find her real name."

May wrote 'Olive' in the corner of the note, and began cracking the code. After a minute, she said, "Lorev?"

Chelmey spluttered. "LOREV! Isn't that…?"

"I thought you would know about LOREV," Layton nodded, not surprised. After all, LOREV was a well-known criminal, so Chelmey would have known, as a member of law enforcement. "Yes, the same LOREV who's responsible for the sale of stolen good throughout England!"

"So when we took the package in…" Chelmey said slowly.

"…he'd already done the deed. The reason the package looks so clean and undamaged was that the wrapping paper was designed so that stickers would effortlessly peel away. As I recall, Angolan diamond stamps work in a very similar fashion."

Maples said nothing. Then he began to laugh, rising higher and higher in volume. "Astonishing. You pieced everything together in days. Does NOTHING get by you, Herschel Layton?"

"Mr Maples…" May said sadly. "So it really was you…"

"Who's LOREV!" shouted Chelmey. "What happened to the Shining Stone?"

"How should I know?" Maples shrugged. "But it is a VERY valuable item. I'd wager LOREV still has it…but you'll never find out where she is."

"Is that right?" Chelmey said, taking a pair of handcuffs off his belt. "We'll just get you to tell us, down at the station, then!"

"Oh yes?" Maples raised an eyebrow. "Catch me first, then, Copper."

Maples picked up the chair at his desk, and threw it at the Professor and Chelmey. He then took the opportunity to dash out of the door, and fled down the stairs. The inspector recovered quickly, and yelled, "Get back here, Maples!" and he ran after him. Layton got up, straightened his hat, and said, "Flora, Luke, and May. Are you three alright?"

They both nodded, and Flora said, "Professor, he's getting away!"

"Don't worry," Layton said grimly. "If that inspector has anything to go by, it's that he never gives up. So we shouldn't either. Come on, we should give chase as well."

They sped off down the corridor after Maples and Chelmey, taking the knocked over things over the museum as signs as to where they had gone. When they got outside the museum, Layton, Luke, Flora and May could see that several police cars were speeding off in one direction. So the four of them jumped into the Laytonmobile, and gave chase.

Eventually, the Laytonmobile and the police cars found themselves outside a small house on the outskirts of London – the address of Mr Maples. There were several cars outside, and many officers had surrounded the building, Chelmey and Barton included. Chelmey was banging his fists on the door.

"Open up, Maples! We have you surrounded!" Chelmey barked. Of course, there was no reply, so Chelmey began staring at the door. It was very well built, and didn't look like any amount of force would open it. Outside, there was a lock, with five keypads connected to five small screens. Chelmey entered a few numbers into the screen, but the security system just buzzed at him. Chelmey cursed under his breath.

"Is there something wrong, Inspector?" Layton asked, as the four of them got out of the Laytonmobile.

"It's this damn security measure," Chelmey said gruffly. "I think you have to enter a certain set of five three digit numbers into the system to get it to open, but I can't figure out what they are!"

"Oh, I know what this is!" said May, and Chelmey turned to look at her. She looked at the screens. "I helped to design this system. These screens act as 'voters', if you will."

"Voters?" Layton, Luke and Flora asked together, all three equally astonished.

"Yes," May answered. "Each screen wants a share of one-thousand. You represent the first screen, and you have to decide how to distribute a thousand, whilst keeping as much as you can for yourself."

"Ok," said Flora, confused. "But what does voting have to do with anything? Can't you just enter '200' to each screen?"

May shook her head. "These screens will decide and vote if they are happy with the way you share out one thousand. If more than half are happy, then the door will open. If not, then…well, if these were people, then the next one would propose a split, and then they'd vote for that, and if its rejected, the third person will vote, and so on. Anyone whose proposal was rejected is not allowed to vote again, but you can vote for yourself. They applied the same principles to this door."

"Sounds complicated," groaned Luke, as the officers made another attempt to barge down the door, with no success.

"So in other words, we need to imagine that these screens are logical people, and we need to avoid getting our proposal rejected, whilst keeping as much of one thousand as we can?" Layton summarised. May nodded.

"Well, then, I think I may have the answer…"

**Post note:** Man, that was long!

This puzzle would be worth 60 Picarats, if it were a game. Here are the key facts (I'm putting it in terms of people rather than screens):

1000 points to be shared among 5 screens. You represent the first screen.

Screens are labelled 1-5. You are screen 1.

You enter the numbers on the screens (propose a split first, in other words).

All five vote whether to accept the numbers you entered.

If at least half decide to accept then it happens. Otherwise it is rejected and the proposer can't vote for the rest of the ordeal. In other words, your numbers are rejected and you have to try another combination.

If it were screens instead of people, then the next numbered screen (person) then proposes a split and so on until a proposal is accepted.

The screens are perfectly logical.

TASK: **Avoid getting rejected. Make sure Screen 1 gets as much points as you can. In that order.**

I thought this was a good puzzle, but I couldn't think of a security measure that wasn't a visual puzzle. I suck…

But anyway, how does Layton know what numbers to enter. Find out next time!

And please keep reviewing!


	15. Chapter 15: Layton vs LOREV, Part 1

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG.

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Hey guys. I just thought you'd like to know that the last of my exams finish on Thursday (that is, next Thursday, not the day I published this chapter). So hopefully I can continue to update regularly. But I'm actually quite near the end, so that's quite annoying…

Here's the next chapter, and the solution to the last puzzle.

* * *

Layton carefully entered numbers into each screen in the following order: 998, 000, 001, 000, 001. As soon as he finished, the security system let out a soft 'ding' before Layton opened the door. At that moment, seeing that the door had been opened, Chelmey and several other policemen stormed into the building, and soon an enormous racket could be seen from outside. As the chaos reigned in Maples's house, May asked, "How on earth did you get that answer?"

"Well, I knew that these screens will only vote 'yes' if it increases their gain," Layton remarked. "Imagine if you will a simplified situation where there are two screens. Since you only need to secure half the votes to carry out a proposal, naturally the first proposal will be a one thousand to zero split and the last screen gets nothing. Now imagine there are three screens."

"The last screen HAS to vote for whatever the first proposal is, otherwise it'll come down to two screens and it'll get nothing," Luke said, having to speak loudly, as there was now quite a lot of shouting going on inside. "So the split is 999:0:1."

Layton nodded. "If there were four screens, the forth screen knows it can easily secure the last screen's vote since it'll get nothing if it boils down to three. So in a similar fashion, it should propose a split of 999:0:1:0."

"So with five screens," Luke concluded, "All you have to do is secure two other votes, so you just have to propose a split where the third and fifth screen comes away with SOMETHING, and you're clear!"

No sooner had he finished speaking, the chaos began to die down, and policemen began to come out of the building again. Chelmey was the last to come out, with a badly beaten, handcuffed Mr Maples in tow. Panting, Chelmey said, "Right, Maples, I've got a few words to have with you!" and he shoved Maples into his car. Barton got in after him, as Chelmey turned to Layton and said, "Still want to get that stamp back?"

Layton nodded. "I do, but I cannot imagine trying to find LOREV to be a simple task. It could take a very long time," he sighed.

Chelmey nodded. "I'll call you as soon as I get a lead," and the three of them drove away.

May watched as the car sped away, and sighed. "I'm sorry to have dragged you out all this way, Professor. But I am glad you solved the mystery."

"Not at all, May. A gentleman never refuses a lady's request," Layton said, tipping his hat. "But I must admit the task of finding the Shining Stone again does seem daunting."

"Won't you at least spend the night at my place?" May asked politely. "It's the least I can do after everything."

"That would be welcome," Layton nodded. "I suppose at least, it gives Luke, Flora and I time to really visit Edinburgh's tourist attractions for ourselves."

"I guess we need something to enjoy after the last few days," Luke said. He then looked in the distance. "How long do you think it'll take to get information out of Mr Maples, do you think?"

"Depends on how cooperative he is," Flora said. "All we can do is wait."

Layton, Luke and Flora spent the next few days looking at the sights (avoiding the museum), and coming to visit Chelmey's workplace in the evenings to check on his progress. However, progress was slow. The police had a better profile on LOREV, but were no nearer to finding out where she was (Maples confirmed LOREV was a woman). But then…

Layton and Flora were finishing off his breakfast (Luke had finished his earlier, despite having bigger helpings), when the phone rang. May left the kitchen to answer it. Layton then heard her gasp, and she dashed back into the kitchen. "Professor, Inspector Chelmey wants to speak with you!"

Flora looked up. "Has the Inspector got something good?"

Layton got up, and went to answer the phone in the living room. "Inspector?"

"Ah, Layton," came the voice on the other end. "Good news. I think I've found where LOREV is!"

"You have?" Layton said, quite surprised. "How?"

"I had my men search town for people resembling the profile Maples gave us on LOREV, and I think I found her place of residence. Don't worry, I've got my men on the case. Rest assured, LOREV won't be leaving Edinburgh any time soon!"

"She lives here?" said the Professor, in disbelief.

"Yeah, I checked the records, and it seems she hasn't left town. We've got her cornered!"

"Well, where's the address?" Layton asked. Chelmey gave him the name of a small house somewhere on Edinburgh's outskirts. Layton nodded. "I'll be right over. I'll see you then." He hung up.

Luke, Flora and May only heard Layton's half of the conversation, but they managed to understand what had happened. "The Inspector found out where LOREV is?" Flora said excitedly.

Layton nodded. "I'm heading over to where the Inspector is. He's hoping to storm the house and arrest her."

Luke got up from the sofa. "Well, let's get going, Professor!"

Layton shook his head. "I'm sorry, you two, but I would prefer to go alone."

Luka and Flora looked shocked. Layton explained, "Neither the Inspector nor I know what will happen when I arrive, so I would prefer to keep you two out of this. I could not live with myself if anything happened to the two of you," he said kindly. He then turned to May. "May, can I rely on you to look after these two while I'm gone?"

"Of course you can," May said. "Just be careful."

Luke and Flora slumped onto May's sofa.

Layton grabbed his coat, and departed. Luke sighed. "It's a bit disappointing, not being able to come with the Professor."

"He'll be fine," May said. "I've never seen anything stop him before."

The Laytonmobile pulled up outside a rather red-looking house, with police cars surrounding it. Layton spotted Chelmey right outside the door. The Inspector spotted him. "There you are."

Layton got out, and said, "I'm impressed you managed to find LOREV in only a few days."

"So am I," Chelmey admitted. "I'm just glad that she remained in Scotland."

"That baffles me," said the Professor. "Why would she not flee the country after obtaining the Shining Stone? I doubt that she simply forgot the need."

Chelmey shrugged. "You'll find out soon enough...it's written on the door of the house." He pointed at the door. It was very sturdily built, like the one at Maples's house. Unlike the other door however, this one had a rather simple looking puzzle.

On the door there were seven squares, each one marked with the name of a day of the week. Underneath was a note, saying,

_I thought someone would find me. I never would have guessed, however, that it would be the esteemed Professor Layton. If it is really you, I propose a challenge. I have several puzzles set up in my house. In fact, I have already turned some of my security measures into puzzles themselves. Let's see if you can reach me then, if you can solve this puzzle._

_Richard is a strange liar. He lies on six days of the week, but on the seventh day he always tells the truth. He made the following statements on three successive days: _

_Day 1: "I lie on Monday and Tuesday."  
Day 2: "I am saying everything here on a Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday."  
Day 3: "I lie on Wednesday and Friday." _

_Can you identify which day he tells the truth? Enter your choice into one of the squares, and the door will open._

_LOREV_

"This LOREV seems to have quite the ego," Layton remarked. "I suppose she caught the sight of me in town on the day I visited Maples's office."

Chelmey ruffled his moustache. "So, let's get this over with. This should be right up your street, this one."

* * *

**Post note:** Yeah, yeah, I set up this situation because fleeing the country would have ended the story on a very limp note. But at least this way, I can continue to set more puzzles!

This puzzle would be worth 40 Picarats, if it were a game. Here are the key facts:

Everything I could say would be repeating myself. Read the puzzle again.

TASK: **Determine the day on which Richard speaks the truth.**

I promise the next few puzzles won't be locks on the door! Instead they'll be far more interesting…

But anyway, how does Layton know what day to enter? Find out next time!

And please keep reviewing!


	16. Chapter 16: Layton vs LOREV, Part 2

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG.

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Hey guys. I just thought you'd like to know that the last of my exams finish on Thursday. So hopefully I can continue to update regularly. But I'm actually quite near the end, so that's quite annoying…

Here's the next chapter, and the solution to the last puzzle.

* * *

Layton stared at the squares on the door for a while, before finally entering the day: Tuesday. At once, the door clicked open.

"Should've known you'd get that one," Chelmey said gruffly. "That one left me at a loss for words."

"It's just a process of elimination, Inspector," said Layton calmly. "We know that Richard tells the truth on only a single day of the week. If the statement on day 1 is untrue, this means that he tells the truth on Monday or Tuesday. If the statement on day 3 is untrue, this means that he tells the truth on Wednesday or Friday. Since Richard tells the truth on only one day, these statements cannot both be untrue. So, exactly one of these statements must be true, and the statement on day 2 must be untrue.

"Assume that the statement on day 1 is true. Then the statement on day 3 must be untrue, from which follows that Richard tells the truth on Wednesday or Friday. So, day 1 is a Wednesday or a Friday. Therefore, day 2 is a Thursday or a Saturday. However, this would imply that the statement on day 2 is true, which is impossible. From this we can conclude that the statement on day 1 must be untrue.

"This means that Richard told the truth on day 3 and that this day is a Monday or a Tuesday. So day 2 is a Sunday or a Monday. Because the statement on day 2 must be untrue, we can conclude that day 2 is a Monday.

So day 3 is a Tuesday. Therefore, the day on which Richard tells the truth is Tuesday."

Chelmey blinked. Then he said, "I think I'll keep my mouth zipped from now on."

Layton raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He had a feeling that the Inspector wouldn't be a lot of help with any situation that didn't involve any physical work.

Chelmey opened the door, and they both walked inside. As the two of them made their way down the corridor, Chelmey remarked, "By the way, Layton, what happened to the other two kids that were with you?"

"Oh, May's looking after them for now," Layton replied.

Chelmey nodded. "This whole criminal thing is a dangerous gig, Layton. Smart move."

Layton thought about the last few days, and everything that had unfolded up until this point. He was starting to consider leaving Flora in someone else's care from now on. Although he was not Layton's biological daughter, he loved her just as much as one, and was beginning to regret dragging her all over the place and putting her in danger.

Layton's thoughts were interrupted by the fact that they had now had reached the end of the corridor. He turned, and noticed that it had no doors whatsoever. It had been a completely straight walk all the way down, until they reached another door. Chelmey turned on the gold handle, expecting another security measure. This one however, seemed to open without a lot of difficulty, much to his surprise. He swung it open, and he saw that this room was very spacious, and was quite cold, due to the air conditioning in the room. It was only dimly lit by the ceiling lights, that were quite well built into the ceiling, with nothing poking out.

"What on earth…?" Chelmey said, astonished.

Layton turned round again. He saw that the corridor was sloping down, towards the room they were in.

"Inspector, I believe we are underground."

"Underground?" Chelmey said, looking around the room. "LOREV, the underworld criminal. Suits her."

Layton looked around the room. It was completely bare. "There doesn't seem to be anything here."

"Layton, you know that a detective overlooks NOTHING when it comes to investigation!" Chelmey barked out enthusiastically.

"Of course not," Layton said courteously, knowing that had never stopped Chelmey from jumping to many wrong conclusions before.

"Split up and search the room!" Chelmey said. Layton nodded, and he moved to the left side of the room, Chelmey, to the right. The two of them searched all over the floor and the walls for any clues that could indicate the presence of a puzzle, or the location of the Shining Stone, but to no avail.

Chelmey had reached further down the room than Layton, and was about to move on, when he stepped on something. He then heard a strange CLICK sound, and instantly, from the far end of the room, several burning sticks came tumbling down from the ceiling and an iron bar gate came down, blocking off the door that Chelmey and Layton had entered. The Inspector then ran back to the other side of the room, only to discover to his horror that the only escape route was blocked off. The air conditioning was now blowing the inferno towards Chelmey and Layton.

"This is it! LOREV's second challenge!" Layton shouted.

"Oh GOODIE!" yelled the Inspector. "I didn't realise that I'd burn to a crisp today!"

Thinking quickly, Layton thought about how to avoid being burned alive, and it was lucky that he was a fast thinker, because he only had seconds to act…

* * *

**Post note:** …Yeah, I know that this sort of crazy house is a bit of a stretch in LONDON, but realism is an acceptable sacrifice for entertainment.

This puzzle would be worth 40 Picarats, if it were a game. Here are the key facts:

Raging fire blowing in your direction.

In a room with no escape.

TASK: **Avoid cooking to perfection at Gas Mark 7.**

I need more puzzles to use as security. Can you help? They can be difficult, or even based on a ludicrous situation, just make sure it's good!

But anyway, how does Layton and Chelmey avoid the fire? Find out next time!

And please keep reviewing! I likes me my reviews!


	17. Chapter 17: Let's get DANGEROUS, Part 1

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG.

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Oh thank god, my exams are now OVER!

...until the next ones come in June! Well, at least I can actually get back to doing the cool stuff again. Hope yours goes/went ok.

Here's the next chapter, and the solution to the last puzzle.

* * *

"Inspector! Do you have a match?" Layton yelled.

"What good is starting ANOTHER fire going to do, you imbecile?" shouted Chelmey, but he still took a box of matches out of his pocket. Layton snatched them of the Inspector, lit one of the matches, and tossed it behind him. Immediately, the new fire that Layton created began to sweep to the other side of the room, burning up the carpeting as it went. Layton then dragged Chelmey into the part of the floor where the new fire had burned. The fire that had been heading for the two of them quickly died out, with nothing to sustain it anymore. Layton watched as the other fire reached the other end of the room, and burnt out.

"Oh," said Chelmey. "That's what it would do."

"Sometimes, the key is to think counter-intuitively," Layton said simply, handing the Inspector back the matches. "Now, then, we've wasted enough time here. Let us continue."

The two of them crossed the ash that was the room's carpet, and approached the door. Like the last one, this one seemed to open effortlessly. Layton and Chelmey entered into yet another different room. This one was considerable smaller than the last, and contained little more than a set of scales, similar to the one in Maples's office, and twelve small, identical looking keys, silver in colour, and all looking brand new. To the left of the scales was a white note. Layton picked up the note and read,

_Greetings, Professor. If you are reading this, then I must assume you've survived my first challenge, which certainly proves your bravery. But I would like to see how cunning you are for myself. We shall soon see._

_As you can see, y__ou have twelve keys. Only one of these keys opens the door to the next room. The others are in fact very convincing decoys which will result in of all your respiratory privileges being taken away if inserted into the lock. The only thing that distinguishes the true key from the decoys is that its weight is imperceptibly different. In order to distinguish the true key I have generously provided you with an old fashioned weighing balance. But to make things more difficult, these scales have been rigged to trigger an alarm sequence which will result in the area being hermetically sealed should you attempt to use it more often that it will allow._

_So then, how will you determine which one is the true key? Remember, you'll have to find out how many weighings you're allowed first. Don't disappoint me._

_LOREV_

Layton sighed. "Well, assuming she's not bluffing, I think it's not much of a stretch to say things will only get less safe."

"How does she find time to set up these crazy traps, anyway?" Chelmey barked.

"That intrigues me as well," Layton remarked. "Why would she risk everything just to test me? I know that she would know about my involvement through Maples, but I doubt even an ego would be any excuse to set up an elaborate gauntlet like this."

"I suppose it would take years to set up any of this for intruders to stumble into," Chelmey agreed. "Once LOREV is arrested, I'm going to have a few good words about her."

"We have to get through the rest of the puzzles she throws at us first," Layton reminded him.

Chelmey sighed. "Ok, ok. I'm just glad that we have time to think about it this time."

Layton stared at the note for a few minutes, going over all the key facts in his head. Chelmey had realised that the Professor had still not gotten the answer after all this time, so Chelmey said, "What's wrong?"

"LOREV hasn't mentioned in the note whether if the true key is heavier or lighter than the decoys," Layton answered. "Were it lighter, then I'd have the answer by now. But…"

"So you're going through every possible scenario?" Chelmey remarked. "My memory isn't what it used to be, so…"

It took a while of Layton staring at the note, and Chelmey kicking the floor in boredom, but eventually, Layton had the answer. "I've got it. The scale can only be used…"

* * *

**Post note:** …How many times?

This puzzle would be worth 70 Picarats, if it were a game. This one's hard because there are many different scenarios. Here are the key facts:

12 keys in a room.

Only one of them opens the door to the next room.

The true key has a different weight than the other eleven, but you don't know whether it's heavier or lighter than the others.

The scales can only be used a certain number of times before suffocating Layton and Chelmey.

The keys are tougher than they look, so they are impervious to any way you could possibly damage them in this situation.

TASK: **Work out how many times you're allowed to use the scales, and how you can determine the true key.**

The next puzzle will be less complicated in answer, but I don't think it'll be any easier to come to the solution. It'll also probably be the last security measure that LOREV could throw at them without having her house underneath all of London.

But anyway, how does Layton and Chelmey avoid suffocating? Find out next time!

And please keep reviewing! I likes me my reviews!


	18. Chapter 18: Let's get DANGEROUS, Part 2

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG.

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Yo, everyone. I'm really pleased I've made it this far. To be honest, I'm surprised I actually could be arsed to update this much and this often. Must be space radiation. But anyway, thanks to all you guys for reading up until this point. It makes it all worthwhile.

Here's the next chapter, and the solution to the last puzzle.

* * *

"…three times."

"Well, hurry up then," Chelmey said.

Layton separated each of the keys in three piles of four. From them, he took the first two piles and measured them against each other. They balanced. Layton then took them off the scale, and took two keys from the third pile, and weighed them. This time, these two were unbalanced. Nodding, Layton then left the heavier key on the scale, and set the other aside, away from the others. He then took another key from the last pile and weighed them-the third and final weighing. They were balanced.

"I see," said Layton. "That means the key I set aside is lighter than the others, and thus the true key."

"So it WAS lighter," Chelmey snorted. "The solution could have been easily gotten, then."

"It's dangerous to assume the obvious at this stage, Inspector," Layton said steadily. "The key could just as easily have been heavier."

Layton then picked up the lighter key and placed it in the keyhole. As he expected, nothing happened. Layton unlocked the door, and it seemed to lead down another corridor.

"We're going further underground again," Layton said, noticing that this corridor was sloping downwards, like the others.

"Steep or not," Chelmey said gruffly, "I think we're getting close to LOREV. And when we do, The Shining Stone can be returned to Edinburgh Museum."

"Just be careful," Layton said. "The next puzzle will probably be just as deadly as the last."

"I know that, Layton," Chelmey barked. "And I know that, so we should just get it over with."

Layton and Chelmey walked down the largely empty corridor, until they came across yet another door that opened without difficulty. Inside this room, there was quite a large arrangement of identical looking white wires with only the ends sticking out of one end of the room, and the other ends, the other side of the room. On the right side of the room, just above the wire ends, there was another note, with a lightbulb, a battery, some duct tape, and a marker pen. Layton approached it to read what it said, but the moment he got close to it, he heard a strange CLICK sound, just like in the room with the fire puzzle, and a strange tennis ball-sized machine, looking like a red button with a silver ring around it, latched onto Layton's chest, and stubbornly wouldn't come off.

"Layton!" shouted Chelmey, running up to help Layton.

"Wait!" shouted Layton. "I think this device is part of the puzzle in this room!"

As soon as Layton said those words, a counter lit up in white letters, reading, "00:00m". Looking down at the contraption, Layton turned to read what the note said. Fortunately it did mention the device, but Layton was hardly encouraged by what it said.

_I advise you stay quite still while reading this, Layton. That machine on your chest is an electrode that is programmed to send several thousand volts through your body should you walk a certain distance. Your task is to find out what that distance IS, exactly. Here's your challenge._

_As you can see, there is a cable, underground for the most part, with 120 identical wires in it. __Unfortunately, the cable is not functioning properly; the problem is the 120 individual wires in the cable are not labelled. There is no visual way of knowing which wire is which and thus connections at either end is not immediately possible._

_I am asking you to identify and label the wires at both ends without ripping it all up. To help you in this task I have supplied you with a battery and light bulb to test continuity. You also have tape and a pen for labelling the wires._

_You also need to watch where you tread. Remember, you also need to figure out the shortest number of meters you can walk without setting off the electrode. Rest assured, once you've labelled each cable with two identical markings of your choice, the electrode will simply fall off._

_See you…or maybe not,_

_LOREV_

"…This is absurd," Layton quietly said, anger rising within him. "This has gone on for too long!"

"I agree!" Chelmey shouted. "I'm going to get that LOREV behind bars before you know it!"

Forcing himself to calm down so that he could think the puzzle through, Layton took the tools that were hanging above the note, placed the pen in his hand, and turned back around to face the cable ends, and found that the electrode didn't seem to count the distance it took to turn around. He then unscrewed the top off the pen, and got to work.

**

* * *

Post note:** …There's actually more than one solution to that puzzle, the Professor's was just one of many. Here they all are:

If you knew the fake key was lighter, then the solution would have an easy explanation. But you do not. So...

Number the keys 1 through 12.

**1.** Weigh keys 1,2,3,4 against keys 5,6,7,8.

**1.1.** If they balance, then weigh keys 9 and 10 against keys 11 and 8 (we know from the first weighing that 8 is a good key).

**1.1.1. **If the second weighing also balances, we know key 12 (the only one not yet weighed) is the counterfeit. The third weighing indicates whether it is heavy or light.

**1.1.2.** If (at the second weighing) keys 11 and 8 are heavier than keys 9 and 10, either 11 is heavy or 9 is light or 10 is light. Weigh 9 against 10. If they balance, 11 is heavy. If they don't balance, you know that either 9 or 10 is light, so the top key is the fake.

**1.1.3** If (at the second weighing) keys 11 and 8 are lighter than keys 9 and 10, either 11 is light or 9 is heavy or 10 is heavy. Weigh 9 against 10. If they balance, 11 is light. If they don't balance, you know that either 9 or 10 is heavy, so the bottom key is the fake.

**1.2.** Now if (at first weighing) the side with keys 5,6,7,8 are heavier than the side with keys 1,2,3,4. This means that either 1,2,3,4 is light or 5,6,7,8 is heavy. Weigh 1,2, and 5 against 3,6, and 9.

**1.2.1.** If (when we weigh 1,2, and 5 against 3,6 and 9) they balance, it means that either 7 or 8 is heavy or 4 is light. By weighing 7 and 8 we obtain the answer, because if they balance, then 4 has to be light. If 7 and 8 do not balance, then the heavier key is the counterfeit.

**1.2.2.** If (when we weigh 1,2, and 5 against 3,6 and 9) the right side is heavier, then either 6 is heavy or 1 is light or 2 is light. By weighing 1 against 2 the solution is obtained.

**1.2.3.** If (when we weigh 1,2, and 5 against 3, 6 and 9) the right side is lighter, then either 3 is light or 5 is heavy. By weighing 3 against a good key the solution is easily arrived at.

**1.3** If (at the first weighing) keys 1,2,3,4 are heavier than keys 5,6,7,8 then repeat the previous steps 1.2 through 1.2.3 but switch the numbers of keys 1,2,3,4 with 5,6,7,8.

Anyway, this chapter's puzzle would be worth 80 Picarats, if it were a game. Here are the key facts:

120 wire cable that's 10m long. The only parts of the wires that are visible are the ends.

Each individual wire looks identical.

The only things in the room that are useful are the battery and light bulb you were given.

TASK: **Work out the shortest distance you need to walk to label all the wires. And you do have to label them while you're at it. **

Here we go, the climax! I just hope it wraps everything up nicely. I'm getting close to revealing the hardest puzzle I know that isn't about three gods! (You should look it up, it's seriously good.)

Please keep reviewing! I likes me my reviews!

Next time, Layton and Chelmey come face-to-face with the master of the house!


	19. Chapter 19: Everything Sort of Works Out

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG.

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Hey. This is probably going to be the second last chapter before the grand ending. I'll probably continue to update for a bit, possibly adding Bonus Post-game puzzles, but I'm hoping to wrap up the story soon. Thanks for reading for this long!

Here's the next chapter, and the solution to the last puzzle.

* * *

Watching the device on his chest, Layton had to move carefully. First, he labelled one of the wire ends "A". Then he tied up two other wire ends up and labelled them both "B', then he went one to tie up three (not already joined) wires together and labelled it "C" and kept this up until all the wires were joined together in groups of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc...for a 120 strand cable, with the largest group of wires totalling 15. Layton then walked to the other end of the cable, watching his electrode light up to 10 metres.

"If I'm right," Layton muttered, "this should only require 20 metres of walking. At least, I hope so."

The Professor then fished the battery and the light bulb out of his pocket, and set to work creating simple circuits from the wires, group by group. It was easy to find out which wires were in a pair, which was joined in a group of three, and so on. Each time a group was found Layton labelled it with the letter for the group, so the single wire was labelled 'a', the pairs were each labelled "A", and so on.

"...this now matched the other end...with the letters going all the way up to "O". Now I take "A", "B", etcetera, up to "O" and join them together in a group and label each one with "15", so we have cables "A15", "B15', "C15", up to "O15"…"

Chelmey was fidgeting. He knew that if Layton blew this one, he would be subjected to thousands of volts coursing through his body. But from how things sounded, he seemed to know what he was doing.

Layton then took the second and last "B'" wire and joined it with a remaining "C", "D", up to "O" and labelled each of them with the number '14' so that the groups were now labelled "B14", "C14", all the way up to "O14". Layton kept going with it until the result was a single "O" cable labelled "O1".

With everything on this end complete, Layton walked back to the other end of the cable. By this point, the electrode read "20 metres". Knowing that he only had this one shot at solving the puzzle, Layton began the final stage.

He untied all the old connections and identified the group labelled "1", "2", "3" ..."15" at which point each wire at each end had a unique classification.

As soon as he had finished marking each one, the electrode, sensing that Layton had successfully identified all the cables, dropped off and landed on the floor with a CLANG. It flickered, and then went out for good.

Layton sighed in relief. He had done it. Chelmey then ran up to Layton. "You did it!"

"Well, we're just lucky there was only one of these electrodes," said Layton. "I dread to think what would have happened if there was another."

"Well, it's over now, isn't it?" barked Chelmey. "Come on, I've had enough of this LOREV twerp! Let's go!"

Layton nodded, and the two quickly unlocked the door, and ran through the steep, upwards sloping corridor. Chelmey kicked down the door at the end, and were greeted by another room. This one was well-kept compared to the other rooms. It was well lit, had a green carpet, wide square windows, from which one could see the streets of London, and all manner of expensive looking furniture. In the middle of the room, sitting on a swivelling desk chair, was a wild looking woman with untidy hair - LOREV.

"I saw you coming," she said, pointing to the security camera viewing screen on a desk. Her voice was harsh, but surprisingly well-spoken.

"The jig's up, LOREV!" yelled Chelmey, readying his handcuffs. "We've got you cornered. You're coming with me!"

LOREV smirked. "Please. As if I'll just come along quietly."

"LOREV." Layton frowned at the criminal mastermind. "Before you are arrested, answer me something. Why go through all this trouble to challenge me? You'd gotten a hold of one of the most valuable collectables in England, so why not flee Scotland with it?"

"Pride, I suppose," LOREV shrugged. "What other reason could there be? My, you do like to analyse into things, don't you Layton?"

"I doubt simple ego had anything to do with it," Layton remarked back. "My involvement was not something that you could have known about until you made the deal with Maples. The letter that May wrote to me was private and confidential, after all."

LOREV said nothing, so Layton continued. "The only explanation for your stay here was that you are connected to me in some way. Revenge, possibly. After all, if you and I were really total strangers, the knowledge of my involvement would have given you even more reason to leave, considering everything I have done lately."

"Interesting," LOREV said, amused. "And how, pray, am I connected to you? I stayed simply because I heard about your many accomplishments and I wanted to see them myself, nothing more."

"Then how is it that you knew Maples still had the Shining Stone, even though he reported it stolen?" Layton demanded.

"As if he would ACTUALLY let go of it," LOREV scoffed. "It's the only white Angolan diamond stamp in the world! That greedy, foolish Birmingham man would never let it go that easily!"

"Interesting…" Layton murmured.

"Hurry up, Layton," snarled Chelmey. He was clearly itching to see LOREV leave in chains, and he was fiddling with the handcuffs with great gusto.

"How is it you know Maples like that? As far as I can tell, Maples's voice does not seem to carry any hint of an accent, least of all a Birmingham one."

"What?" LOREV frowned.

"The only way you could possibly have known that was if you knew Maples personally, and I doubt a criminal with global influence would have time to get to know someone who is little more than a 'client'."

"What are you implying?" LOREV demanded.

"I don't think you're the real LOREV," Layton said simply. "My involvement in the case would have been only a coincidence, from your point of view. So the only reason you chose to remain here, and challenge me was because of a hatred of me."

Layton then pointed an accusing finger at her. "Does that sound about right…Don Paulo?"

LOREV grimaced, as Layton went on. "I knew that you and Maples worked and studied together, for a time. That is how you knew Maples, and his true personality. When Maples claimed to all of England that the Shining Stone was stolen, you didn't believe a word of it. So you came to Edinburgh to meet with him and take the stamp for yourself. To that end, you disguised yourself and claimed to be LOREV. Of course, no-one could know who or what LOREV was, so you probably based that disguise on little more than a guess. Nonetheless, it was good enough to fool Maples into handing over the Shining Stone to you."

"But how could he even afford to buy it?" Chelmey pointed out. "It costs millions!"

"Don Paulo is a scientist," Layton replied. "He used the funding from his research to purchase it. Of course, since he was expelled from the field, he no longer had anything else worthwhile to spend the money on.

"So, Don Paulo, is that true or not? If not, speak now, or forever hold your silence."

LOREV smirked. "It seems…"

She then threw off her clothes, and tore the mask off her face, and tossed them aside, revealing a short man wearing a purple coat, a red shirt and trousers, brown horn shaped hair, and a brown beard-Don Paulo, Layton's self-proclaimed nemesis.

"…that you've seen through me yet again!"

"You!" Chelmey bellowed. "You sick man, setting up those deadly traps just for your kicks!"

"Oh, those?" Don Paulo cackled. "Bluffs, all of them. Well, apart from the fire, I couldn't actually make it non-lethal in the time I spent staying here, but the worst that would happen was that you would be knocked unconscious!"

"Why go through the trouble?" Layton asked. "You should know me well enough by now to realise that those puzzles wouldn't be enough to stop me."

"I was mostly trying to scare that infernal Inspector off," growled Don Paulo. "And possibly you, too. But you've both proven braver than I thought. Well…" he said, reaching into his pocket and producing a small picture frame, containing a small, diamond patterned stamp – the Shining Stone!

"…at least I can escape with this!"

"No you don't!" Chelmey ran up to the short, purple ex-scientist and tackled him to the floor. Don Paulo, however, was stronger than he looked, and the two men began to tussle onto the floor. The Shining Stone flew out of his hand in the struggle, and landed next to the two men. Layton then quickly scooped up the stamp, just as Don Paulo managed to throw the Inspector off him, and he opened up the window. He then jumped out of it, and cursing, he pulled a string in the back of his jacket, and a jetpack opened out onto Don Paulo's back, and he rocketed away in a blaze of smoke and evil-genius, yelling, "NEXT time, Layton! NEXT TIME!"

"Get back here!" Chelmey yelled, as he dashed back through the corridor from where they came, back to the door leading into the house. Layton, in the meantime, found a small transparent hatch in the floor, with a handle that looked very similar to a safe. Peering through the door, Layton could see stairs that led upwards, back into the streets of London. Feeling that this would be a far simpler way to get out, Layton took a good hard look at the solution to the code. He noticed that there was a rather untidy set of writing – Don Paulo's writing – next to the numbers, which read,

"1 short of 10 equal sets,

1 short of 9 equal sets,

Until you have one big pile,

What sets up this unnerving mess?"

* * *

**Post note:** …Geez, I am so tired, but happy.

This not-quite-final puzzle would be worth 50 Picarats, a relief from the others. Here are the key facts:

Code to hatch is a four digit number.

The number is one that leaves you one short of ten equal piles, one short of nine equal piles, one short of eight equal piles, and so on until you have one big pile making up the four digit number.

TASK: **Work out the smallest number possible (It's a four digit number) to set up this situation.**

Well, I'm pleased with how everything turned out. I reckon that it's probably my finest bit of work (yes, I know my only other piece is an incomplete fic, please don't nitpick).

Please leave a review, as always. And check back next time to find out about my hardest puzzle yet!


	20. Chapter 20: No Rest for the Wicked

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **For the last time, the Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG.

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Yo. Here I am, once morely, to deliver the final chapter before resorting to Post-Game puzzles. Thanks especially to **NerdySkeleton** and **The Time Traveler** for being my regular visitors and reviewers, and for anyone else who actually found me amongst this sea of messages in bottles. You're all awesome.

Here's the last chapter, and the solution to the previous puzzle.

* * *

Layton smiled. "The lowest common multiple of numbers one to ten is 2520, minus one. So…" He entered into the code, '2519'. At once, the red light above the lock turned green, and the door unlocked. Layton lifted the door up, and descended the ladder to find himself in a small room, with a flight of stairs leading to the surface. Layton ascended to the top, removed the manhole cover from the ceiling, and found himself once again in the streets of London. Checking his pockets, Layton made sure that he still had the picture frame containing the Shining Stone. Just then…

"Heeeeey!" Layton turned around, and saw May, Flora and Luke running towards the Professor, waving.

"Everyone!" said Layton, astonished. "How did you find me?"

"I'm sorry," May said, rather flustered. "Flora and Luke were really worried about you, so they persuaded me to go after you. I had the Inspector's assistant Barton give us directions, and…"

"Well, no matter," sighed the Professor. "I am quite safe, as you can see. And better yet…"

Layton retrieved the Shining Stone from his pocket, and gave it to May. "Here's Mr Hammond's treasure, still in good nick."

May beamed, and flung her arms around the Professor. "Thank you so very, very much!" she whispered.

At that moment, Chelmey came running down the street, quite out of breath. "I'm sure that…Don Paulo…came this wa…Layton!"

"Ah, Inspector," Layton said, adjusting his silk hat after May's glomp. "Paul got away, I presume?" (Paul was Don Paulo's real first name.)

"Yup," Chelmey wheezed. "And…how in blazes…did you…get out here so fast?"

"There was a back door," Layton remarked "It led all the way out here."

Chelmey could do nothing but stare at Layton in astonishment and rage at the easy route Layton took, before coughing and saying, "Well, have you got it?"

"Yes," Layton smiled. "And I intend to make quite sure that it is returned back to its rightful place."

"So that's the Shining Stone?" Luke stared at the stamp in the picture frame in May's hand in wonder. "Hard to believe something so small caused so much havoc, isn't it, Professor?"

Layton crossed his arms. "Quite. But for now, we should probably let everyone know about what happened first."

Layton, Luke and Flora stayed in Edinburgh for long enough to finally see the Shining Stone, still in its picture frame, put on display next to Hammond's stamp collection. On its first day, not many people understood its significance, and there were few who went to see it, but soon many fanatic stamp collectors all over England were flocking to see the only white diamond Angolan stamp in history.

The three of them also spent two days looking around the hot tourist spots (finally), and Luke soon had many photos to take back to London. Everything was done rather quickly, as Layton had to speak with the press who came flocking to the museum several times, but the last few days in Scotland were most enjoyable, overall.

All too soon, it was time to head back home. Layton spent the train journey back to his study going over his notes to his class on archaeology, while Flora tried to make something for Luke from the things she could buy from the buffet car, which resulted in Luke in the restroom for the first half of the journey, and his head out of the window for the second (Layton quickly grabbing Luke's hat so it didn't fly away).

Soon, the train pulled up outside the station, and Layton, Luke and Flora were soon driving home. The streets were strangely quiet as they drove past, but they didn't pay it a lot of thought. The three of them soon arrived back at Layton's flat, and the three of them went to bed early, tired, but satisfied at another case solved.

The trio awoke the next morning as usual, and after breakfast, they drove down to Gressenheller University, so that Luke and Flora could listen to another of Layton's lectures. As they drove past, they noticed that people in the streets were covering up their faces with scarves, handkerchiefs, and other things. As they pulled up outside the doors of the university, Layton noticed one of his regular students outside, covering his face in a red mask. The three of them got out of the car, and the young man came running up to the Laytonmobile.

"Oh, Professor!" he said. "You came back at a really bad time!"

"Why? What on Earth has happened?" Layton asked urgently.

"Well, you see," said one of the university professors (a middle aged woman with red hair), running up to Layton, "there's been a terrible disease spreading around London while you were gone, it's one where you get really tired and see things that aren't there. I reckon about a quarter of the staff and students are infected!"

"Oh my," Layton gasped.

"Trouble is," said the young man, "we're scared that if we own up to having the unknown germ, we'll be taken away somewhere. I mean, everyone wants to tell the truth, and everyone who has this disease knows it, but they won't talk."

"But surely unless you do, the cure to this disease won't be found!" Luke exclaimed.

"We know that," sighed the university teacher. "You know how our prime minister, Bill Hawks is like. His government won't spend money into finding a cure unless there's proof the infection rate is really bad. But…"

"How did this disease even come about, anyway?" Flora asked. "I mean, a disease just doesn't APPEAR like that!"

"Someone vandalised Big Ben," said the young man. "Left a big note saying that he would infect London 'For Science'. Some nutjob claiming to be the biggest fan of someone called Jean Descole."

"Descole!" Layton frowned in anger. Descole was another enemy Layton had tangled with several times before.

"Yeah, so everyone in the street is being surveyed, but they're not coming up with anything. As far as they know, the reason no-one is owning up to having it is because they haven't got it!"

"But that's crazy!" Luke shouted.

"Luke, Flora," Layton said, crossing his arms, and covering up his face with a white silk scarf, "I think we have another case on our hands."

"You're going to survey London yourself?" Flora asked, astonished. "But they've already been asked, and they won't tell the truth!"

"That's only because they don't want to disclose any information that can be used against them," Layton explained, handing Luke and Flora a scarf each. "So I just need to plan out my survey very carefully."

"So what do we do?" asked Luke.

"First, I'll have a little word with Mr Hawks. I'm sure that I'll need his approval to survey any of London. And he'll probably want the names of the people being surveyed as well."

And so, with another case in the Professor's hands, Layton, Luke, and Flora got back into the Laytonmobile, and drove to 10 Downing Street, ready to start another mystery.

* * *

**Post note:** …And that's that!

This is it, the final puzzle! I can't even put a rating for Picarats on it, it's that hard. Here are the key facts, and make sure you read them carefully:

Everyone who has the disease knows it.

Everyone wants to tell the truth.

The infected need there to be no way of tying their answer as to whether or not they have the disease. The survey's answers must be ones that cannot be used against them.

The government won't be happy unless your survey demonstrates the extent of the spread throughout the population. They want answers, along with the names of the people surveyed or they won't accept the survey.

TASK: **Design the survey!**

And don't go looking in the next chapter for the solution. For a puzzle this fiendish, I couldn't make it that easy. Message me, or leave a review with your answer if you think you know!

Next time, Post-Game puzzles!


	21. PostGame Puzzles: Museum Puzzle 1

**Professor Layton and the Shining Stone**

**Disclaimer: **For the last time, the Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…

**Rating: **PG.

**Summary: **The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…

Welp, time to start the Post-Story Puzzles again. I warn you, these ones are actually fairly difficult, averaging 70 Picarats (as you'd expect from Post-Story stuff) so prepare to tear out a lot of hair. (BTW, I'm doing them in sets of three, since you get three puzzles for each achievement in the Prof Layton games. Here's the first achievement's first puzzle.

With that out of the way, here's the first hair tearing fest.

* * *

Contrary to what rumours say, Don Paulo had once experienced a brief stint in jail. After three days in, the warden called him to his room, along with 22 other prisoners. He told them, "You may meet today and plan a strategy. But after today, you will be in isolated cells and will have no communication with one another.

"In the prison is a switch room, which contains two light switches, labelled 1 and 2, each of which can be in either up or the down position. I am not telling you their present positions. The switches are not connected to anything.

"After today, from time to time whenever I feel so inclined, I will select one prisoner at random and escort him to the switch room. This prisoner will select one of the two switches and reverse its position. He must flip one switch when he visits the switch room, and may only flip one of the switches. Then he'll be led back to his cell.

"No one else will be allowed to alter the switches until I lead the next prisoner into the switch room. I'm going to choose prisoners at random. I may choose the same guy three times in a row, or I may jump around and come back. I will not touch the switches, if I wanted you dead you would already be dead.

"Given enough time, everyone will eventually visit the switch room the same number of times as everyone else. At any time, anyone may declare to me, 'We have all visited the switch room.'

"If it is true, then you will all be set free. If it is false, and somebody has not yet visited the switch room, you will all die horribly. You will be carefully monitored, and any attempt to break any of these rules will result in instant death to all of you."

Don Paulo was doubtful as to what exactly was going on regarding the warden's 'generosity', but he decided not to answer for fear of being beaten to within an inch of an inch of his life. He therefore gathered the other prisoners around, and they began discussing ideas.

Sadly, Don Paulo was nowhere near as logically gifted as Professor Layton, and so he turned to you, one of the prisoners, for guidance. (Incidentally, you're in here for constantly soft resetting your Professor Layton games to avoid unnecessary loss of Picarats. Cheater.)

So, what do you propose?

* * *

**Post note:** …And that's that!

This one's worth about 75 Picarats (and it's only going to get worse). Here are the key facts:

23 prisoners in jail.

Each day, one of the prisoners will be led to the switch room (choice of who is random).

How many will go to the switch room in one day is also random.

Two switches in the switch room.

Whoever is led to the switch room must choose one of the switches and change its position (on or off). Then s/he is sent back to the cell.

Once one of the prisoners thinks that everyone's visited the switch room, then s/he has to say so.

If everyone hasn't, you all face death.

TASK: **Work out a way to free everyone. And you have to, or you get killed so hard you die to death.**

If anyone else has any puzzles they want to submit, then feel free to leave them in your reviews (and please do, I'm getting sorta lonely)!

Check back here for the solution!


End file.
